Higan Bana
by Buru-beri-chan
Summary: Akemi was use to being the one protected, she thought she was weak because of this but on the day everything ended she discovered the demon locked within her. A demon that'll keep her and the rest of the H.O.T.D team alive
1. Dead anniversary

**A/N:** I seem to have had very good timing with this. With Netflix's most recent fuck up I was able to watch a whole bunch of new anime on my Wii. Last week I came across the anime my friends have warned me against watching and that anime was High school of the dead. Being the ever so stubborn person I am I watched it anyway and fell utterly in love with it! I'm opening a whole bunch a projects all at the same time but this one I just had to do, I mean Halloween is coming upon us, the day that in Pagan beliefs is not only marks the start of a new year but is the day that the veil between the living and the dead is at its absolute thinnest. It's only appropriate that I do this and besides….*evil grin* I'm a bit of a blood lusting maniac when it comes to anime like this hehehehe. So I hope you enjoy it: read, review, check my Tumblr and Formspring account and pop in a question or comment. I always reply to them!

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><p>"Stand back!"<p>

All the two girls the order was yelled at could do was listen and cower in fear at what they saw. A barbaric yell echoed through the loud moans and groans that just wouldn't stop. The wind whistled and with a sickening crack bone caved sending blood and brains splattering against everything; the walls, the windows, the lockers and especially the young man that swung the broom and cause such a horrific mess. He jumped back as the corpse of his victim dropped to the floor; it was a girl of the junior class though if one looked at her now it would be difficult to figure that out. Her usually peach skin was a clammy grey half her head was caved in from the blow dealt to her and the eye that wasn't crushed was ghostly white. Panting the high school student gripped the broom by the handle tightly, there were still more of them, of their peers lugging slowly towards them looking just like that girl did: grey clay like skin, white sunken eyes and the stench of them like their flesh was rotting off them as they walked like mindless monsters.

"Harou-kun" the younger of the two girls whimpered out taking in the sight of their fellow students advanced on the three of them. If they got close enough these three teens would suffer the horrible fate they had witness from their classroom window. Students were eating other students! One of the schools teachers had been utterly devoured trying to save them! Harou glanced back at the two girls with panic shimmering in his burning green eyes.

"Run!" he ordered them taking the younger girl by her wrist with his free hand and dragging her down the hall, the older girl was close behind them. One after another, Harou swung the broom in his hand giving a very literal view to bashing skulls and leaving the hallway littered with the corpses of schoolmates and faculty alike. It didn't matter who they were, if they tried to get in the way he would put an end to them. "In here, quick" he yanked the girl he had been pulling the whole time into the nearest vacant classroom and when the other girl behind her entered he slammed it shut. "Ruka, get me the teachers desk. Push it over here quick!" Ruka, the older of the two girls whose long green hair warped about her frame and in her face, nodded her head and while Harou kept the door shut with his body weight "Hurry Ruka"

"I-I'm trying!" Ruka grunted, the deck screeched loudly as she pushed and push until the desk was pushed up against the door.

"Good" Harou sighed "that should be enough to keep them back at least for now…"

"Oh thank god" Okamoto Ruka, a third year, sighed as well sinking to her knees. For once, after what felt like an eternity of hearing screams of terror and the horribly sink sounds of teeth biting down on flesh, silence grace the three teens and allowed them peace to sit and try to process what was going on. How could such a normal day turn into this madness? "Harou" Ruka turned her gaze to her classmate as the boy dropped onto his butt on the floor beside her "What _was_ that? What's _wrong _with everyone?"

"If I knew that we wouldn't be barricading ourselves inside a classroom now would we Ruka?" Ikeda Harou, also a third year, replied leaning his back against the desk still trying to catch his breath. His death grip on the broom he had been using as a weapon loosened now that they were safe and his green eyes met a similar pair of green eyes across the room from him. The youngest of the three teens, first year Sato Akemi, turned away from the window overlooking the school grounds and stared the older student in the eyes before they fell to the floor and she began fingering the heart shaped tag attached to the cat collar strapped to her neck. "Akemi" Harou called out to her "you okay?" Akemi meekly nodded her head tucking red locks out of her face and behind her ear.

"They…They ate him" The young girl quivered at the very account "Like in those freaky video games, they just jumped him and started eating him!" Ruka blanched at the very memory of witnessing their classmates cluster around the teacher that have been protecting them not long ago and mercilessly feast on him like savage dogs! Akemi hugged herself her eyes tearing up as she recounted the gory sight in her head over and over again. This just had to be some kind of nightmare, there's no way this could really be happening!

"What are we going to do?" Ruka spoke up "We can't stay trapped in here forever"

"I don't know" Harou growled in frustration

"Well we have to do something!" Ruka yelled in a panic

"I know!" Harou yelled back "Just give me a fucking minute to think!" A minute would not be granted to him like he had requested. Within seconds of him yelling the upper part of the door shattered into splitters over the third years and the noise, the horrid groaning, poured into the classroom. Ruka shrieked crawling away from the desk before it tipped sideways from the pushing horde condensing in the doorway. It toppled onto Harou and the student yelled out from the extra weight.

"Ikeda-senpai!" Akemi yelped enveloped with terror

"Harou!"

"Don't worry about me!" Harou yelled at the two girls pushing the desk the best he could in his position and keeping those monsters out of the classroom for the moment "There's a door in the back of the room that leads to the next room! Take that door and get out of here!"

"But…" Ruka shook slightly "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me just get out of here!" Harou replied with a grunt, the desk groaned loudly under the force that was being applied to it. The girls could see from the strain on Harou's face that the weight being added onto the desk was becoming too much for him "Look!" He grunted when he saw that neither girl was moving "I can't keep these guys back for much longer but I can leave you guys enough time to get the fuck out of here so go!"

"I'm not leaving without you!" Ruka declared pushing herself to her feet and hurrying to her fellow third years side.

"Ruka no!" Harou glared at the girl as she too pushed the desk easing the weight off of the boy "Take Akemi and get out of here!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you!" Ruka glared back for a moment but her glare softened and she soon gained a sullen look "I'll follow you where ever you go Harou even if it means to the afterlife…"

"…Ruka…"

"Akemi!" the first year flinched when Ruka yelled her name "Go on and get out of here! Harou and I will buy you enough time to get away. Go find some others who have survived and stay with them! Understand?"

"Ruka…Ikeda-senpai…" Akemi whimpered still hugging her shaking body tightly and letting the tears that had been collecting in her eyes ran trains down her cheeks, she sank to the classroom floor conflicted in what she should do. Her eyes narrowed and in an instant the first year was suffering from tunnel vision, she couldn't hear the two older students yell at her to run. The broomstick… Akemi stopped shaking. The broomstick Harou had been using…it was just laying there begging to be used.

_There is a fundamental physiological response every human is supposed to have when under intense stress or a situation that will harm or otherwise kill that person. It's that instinct we follow when we either run away from or fight something that frightens us in other words it's our primal survival instincts. This instinct does not discriminate between age or gender or race, everyone has it and everyone goes about using it in different ways._

_This primal instinct, this underlining drive to stay alive is known as the "fight or flight response"_

_It's supposed to provide you with a sudden splurge of energy so you can run from what threatens you or fight and numb the pain of any and usually all injuries you may sustain while the threat is before you._

…_I use to think I didn't have that instinct in me. I'm so use to be protected I just figured that it just went away or that I simply locked it away in a chest deep within me._

_But when I sat there utterly helpless as my senpais tried to save me I realized something. Something that opened those locks something that made me snap._

_I realized…I didn't want to fucking die._

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><p><strong>Act 1.<strong> Dead anniversary

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><p><em>I…I use to hate my hair.<em>

_It sticks out from everyone else's and I was picked on a lot for having such red hair. They liked to call be an evil spirit that wore the sins of her past life on her head so the world would know, they called me a demon. I…I hated my hair._

**Left a teary mess from the most recent round of teasing she had been dealt today, Sato Akemi sat by herself in her sanctuary under some steps of the school wiping at her teary eyes but otherwise showing no signs of stopped her sobbing. She had asked her mother to help her with her hair that morning, they had woken up early and spent hours curling it and pulling it into neat pigtails and in an instant they had pulled them out and yanked at her hair calling her all those horrible names they always did that made her cry. This place under the steps was the only place she could find sanctuary from it all.**

"**Well, Well, Well. Look what we have here…" The sudden voice that echo through the stairway and to Akemi stopped her sobs momentarily; she raised her head from her huddled position and looked around and finally up. Green eyes met a similar set of green eyes looking over the rail of the step just above her a gentle smile graced the face the foreign green eyes belonged to "You're hiding down here again"**

"**Harou-kun…" Akemi hastily wiping at her face trying to rid herself of her tears and wet face. The echo of the older boy's footsteps rung in her ears as he slowly made his way down the rest of the steps and closer to her. "I-I'm not crying! Honest!" she sniffled "I just wanted to be alone"**

"**Mhm, sure" Harou had his hands shoved into his pockets as he stared down at the girl looking absolutely miserable where she sat on the floor "I saw Ruka on my way over here. She said she had just finished having a nice talk with some girls from your class that had been picking on you again" Akemi hung her head when Harou said this.**

"**It's my fault" she summed up weakly "If I didn't have this awful red hair they wouldn't pick on me so much."**

"**You know, I don't know why you hate your hair so much" Harou sighed bending down so he was eye level with the girl "It's like the Red spider lilies we use to pick from that stream when we were kids" Akemi sniffled under the gentle touch of her childhood friend, he ran his fingers through her red hair "You're unique and beautiful just like those lilies"**

"**Don't make fun of me too" Akemi grumbled closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look Harou in the eye anymore "Me? Beautiful?" she snorted slightly at the thought "I'm a demon"**

"**Is that so?"**

'_**Click'**_

**Akemi nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt leather wrapped around her neck and heard the click of a tag on metal. She opened her eyes back up and was surprised to find that Harou had put a collar on her when she had her eyes closed. He drew his hand away when the heart shaped tag he had just clipped on it was fastened tight.**

"**Then I guess you'll be my lovely red demon from now on huh?" Harou grinned at Akemi as he said this**

"…**Harou…" Akemi toyed with the little tag staring at the older boy confused**

"**Baka Kohai" Harou swatted the girl on her forehead "You thought I'd forget today was your birthday?" he chuckled swatting the girl a second time "Baka Kohai" he repeated himself**

"**So this is a birthday gift?" Akemi looked down at the tag hanging from her neck and what was printed on it: Higan Bana, Red spider lily.**

"**That and a proposal" Harou answered**

"**Pro-" Akemi turned as red as her hair fixing her old time friend with a completely shock look "proposal?"**

"**From now on you'll be my red spider lily" Harou grinned at her leaning forward and kissing Akemi on her forehead. "Okay?"**

_I've been friends with Ikeda Harou and Okamoto Ruka for as long as I can remember. They always looked after me like I was a little sister, they made me feel like I wasn't a demon like everyone said I was. Two years ago, Harou asked me to become his girlfriend and I said yes. I was so happy, for a while there I liked my hair, as long as my hair was red I was Harou's red spider lily. Even when we started dated Harou had always been closer to Ruka than me so when I entered high school I joined the Kendo team to become stronger but nothing changed…right up to that day… everything stayed the same._

_It was our second anniversary on the day that everything ended._

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><p>"Harou!" Sato Akemi, now a 16 year old first year, made her way down the empty halls of Fujimi high school. She had managed to sneak out of class and meet up with the third year for their second anniversary. She was very excited for today, Harou had said he had something very important to tell her today and Akemi herself had spent hours the day before looking for a perfect gift to mark this grand day. Today would be perfect! "Harou are you there?" Akemi questioned her long red locks swaying about her person as she turned round a corner and bounced up the steps to their usual meeting spot, on the landing between the third floor and the second. Above her, she could hear voices speaking amongst one another in hushed tones. "Harou?" the first year stopped at the last set of stares and choked on any other call she may have had for her boyfriend. Her emerald eyes grew in size at the sight before her.<p>

There he was, Ikeda Harou tangled in an embrace with friend and fellow third year Okamoto Ruka at the landing. Ruka clenched his blazer with both hands ever so tightly and with her chin tipped up she stood on her toes so her lips could meet his. The two had their eyes closed seemingly just enjoying the bliss of the moment. Harou he…he didn't make any sign that he was going to, or even wanted to, push Ruka away even if he knew that not only did he have a girlfriend, but that same girlfriend was best friends with the very girl he was kissing. Shocked Akemi found herself at a loss of words to speak as she witnessed this betrayal.

_Nothing changed…Ruka would always be closer to Harou than I was…_

'_Click!'_ Akemi clenched a fist to her chest as the loud click of what sounded like something a key being fitting into a lock rang through her head. Her body trembled slightly and within second she had to grip the railing of the steps just to keep from falling. Harou finally pulled away from Ruka eyeing the girl with worry etched in his expression.

"Ruka…" he muttered lowly turning his head so he looked down the hallway in guilt "I don't know about this… Akemi…this will crush her" Ruka drew away from the boy letting the heels of her feet touch the floor again. Her eyes flutter opened reflecting no amount of regret or remorse for kissing Harou like he had felt for kissing her. A sly grin curve the lovely girls face.

"Don't worry about it Harou" she muttered easing her clenched fist and settling her palms against his chest "You and I were meant to be together like this. Akemi won't mind I promise you…Ne, Akemi?"

"What?" Harou whispered, Ruka's blue eyes locked on the first year standing at the steps while the boy who she embraced and who equally embraced her whipped his head around to look as well. Akemi flinched slightly under his stare. Did she mind it? Of course she did! She…she really liked Harou and when he asked her to be his girlfriend she had been so happy! But… Akemi's wide eyes eased and looked everywhere, _anywhere_ other than at the two third years holding one another. "Akemi" Harou spoke her name. She had to say something she knew she did so sullenly the first year put on her best smile for the two and nodded her head.

"Mm!" She hummed shaking ever so slightly as she did "Ruka…Ruka is your age! And she's so much prettier than me!" Doubt washed over Harou's face as he gazed down at the young girl but it only made Akemi force her smile even more "You two belong together" she told them.

"Akemi…"

"See?" Ruka stopped Harou from saying anymore; she drew him close to her pressing her face against his chest happy with how things where turning out for her "She's okay with it. I told you it would work out" the third year said "We've been keeping it hidden from her for a full year Harou, it's not right to keep delaying what was meant to be"

'_Click!'_ Deep within Akemi another loud clickrung out, that key that turned in its place in the lock. She nodded her head to what her friend was saying though her fist gripped the fabric of her uniform even tighter than before with hope that the action would ease the pain she was feeling.

"I…I should get back to class now!" the red head tried to happily but her voice was cracked and strained, if she didn't get away she would start crying soon enough. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything, I will be going now."

"Akemi" Harou called to the girl but she quickly swung herself around and bounded down the steps towards the second floor as fast as she could go "Akemi! Wait!" The step echoed with the pounding of footsteps and before Akemi could go far Harou's fingers wrapped about her wrist and yanked her back stopping her from taking another step. "I said wait!" Akemi stopped but she didn't face the boy gripping her wrist tightly. "Akemi…" he spoke her name again "are you…are you really okay with this?"…He wasn't going to try to explain this to her? He was going to try and stop her from leaving and fix their relationship before it titter over the edge of being over?

'_Click!'_ Akemi tried not to shudder as the lock was jerked open with yet another resonating click throughout her head. Something had just been unlocked, she wasn't sure what it was but something in Akemi told her that it had been. Still, she ignored the feeling and glance over her shoulder and up at Harou.

"Of course I'm sure!" she told him cheerfully and smiling as best she could "The two of you really do belong together! I just hope…I hope we can still be good friends Ikeda-senpai!"

"Senpai?" Harou repeated loosening his grip on her, his mouth opened in a motion to speak on but suddenly the overhead jumped to life and the two teens glanced up at the nearest speaker looming over them.

"Attention students" It was the principal "an emergency situation is currently taking place inside the school. Please follow your teacher's instruction and evacuate."

"Evacuate?" Akemi repeated nervously, what kind of emergency was so bad that they had to evacuate? Usually if something happen the school went under lockdown and the students were instructed to hide under their desk and out of sight from all doors, windows and opening but to have them all leave the school grounds…

"I repeat a-" the overhead suddenly cut off enveloping the stairs in utter silence. Akemi turned to face Harou and gave him a worried look that he returned.

"What was that?" he muttered but all Akemi could do was reflect his confusion.

"Harou" the two looked farther up the steps where Ruka had just appeared looking just as confused as they did "Did you hear that?"

"Yea" Harou nodded his head "Something's up"

"But what could be so bad that we have to leave the-" The overhead screeched on again silencing whatever else Ruka was going to say. The principal's voice could be heard again but this time he wasn't talking to the microphone, his voice was distant and there was an awful groaning sound ringing about with him.

"No" he yelled "stand back! Get away from me! Get away! Get back! No! No!"

"Oh god…" Akemi held her hand to her mouth when she heard her school principal suddenly begin screaming in pain and terror.

"AHHH! HELP ME! AHHH! Help!" with one last, loud cry for help the overhead cut off.

"Principal" Akemi whimpered out into the silence that followed what sounded like the murder of Fujimi high school's principal. Something just attacked him! There was definitely a threat within the school and who knew how many of them were there.

"This is bad" Harou spoke up "We have to get out of here right now"

"But the principal just said to-" Ruka tried but Harou shook his head wildly

"We can't wait on the teachers to tell us what to do Ruka" he said, quickly he turned away from Akemi and began walking up the steps and back to the landing where Ruka stood "let's get our stuff and get the hell out of here before a riot breaks out" already Harou's prediction was coming true, from their places between the second and third floors of the school screams and shouts of terror were already echoing through the halls.

"It sound like one is already coming" Ruka voiced tensing up just a bit

"Akemi come on" Harou commanded the first year.

"R-right!" she squeaked out moving to follow the upperclassman up the steps but as she did the stairway trembled with the countless stopping footsteps of panicking students from the upper floors rushing to get out of the school as fast as they could. The last thing Akemi saw before this stampede of students hit them full on was Harou's worried expression turning back to look at her reaching out for her but it was too late. Moving like a herd of raging bulls third years came pouring down the stairs shoving whoever they had to out of the way to get down them. The sheer numbers and force of this rushing students sent Akemi stumbling down the steps and away from Harou with a loud scream.

"Akemi!" his voice yelled out for her but she couldn't see him among the chaos.

_For most human beings, when faced with an unknown danger the first instinct they pick from "the fight or flight response" is "flight" uncertain of the strength or numbers of the threat leaves a sense of being unprepared for what is ahead and so instead of facing it head on they run away._

_Fleeing is one of a human beings best lines of defense, the farther away we are from the threat the better but sometimes, and especially if the flight response kick in while in a large mass of others, this response can pose as a threat to anything and everything in that persons path. In a sense it's a 'kill or be killed' mind set, they don't care who they had to step on to get to a safer area all they know if they're going to do it if it means that they get to live a little longer. Human's are like that these days, we care more for ourselves than those we stand beside and really who can blame us for thinking that way?_

_Think of it this way: When facing a dangerous and hungry wild animal and having the knowledge that if you can out run your friend the animal will target that friend and not you would you stay to defend that person?_

_Most would say they would, but human beings rarely do exactly what they originally thought they would._

_When you're standing there staring death in the face, you don't think about the connection you have with others._

It was like being stuck in a whirlpool with no sign of getting free; Akemi was pushed, pulled and shoved in every direction as soon as she was swallowed by the masses. Her red hair was yanked hard by someone who yelled for her to get out of their way and then she was thrown and her back slammed hard against the nearest wall. The young girl yelled in pain shutting her eyes tight because of it but it wasn't over yet, Akemi lost her footing and with the aid of yet another hard shove the first yet was sent tumbling down the steps all the way to the second floor.

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><p>Still standing at the landing leading to the third floor Harou gripped the stairs railing securing his place despite the shoves delivered to him by students rushing past. His free arm was wrapped about Ruka's waist keeping her close to him.<p>

"Akemi!" he yelled over the screaming and yelling around them scanning the stairway for any sign for the young girls deep red hair and listen for her voice. Ruka gripped the front of his blazer and the boy tightened his hold on her as she stumbled about.

"Harou" she yelled overt eh chaos "we have to get off the steps! If we stay here we're going to get run over!"

"Dammit" Harou cursed nodding his head, he didn't want to have to leave Akemi behind but Ruka was right. Reluctantly the boy pushed his way up the steps and back to the third floor where the number of rushing students was lessening and they could move about freely without being pushed here and there. So there was hardly a soul walking about the upper floors but as Harou and Ruka quickly found out a panicking high school student was the least of their problems.

"Aoi!" Ruka sighed in relief when she saw the familiar blue ribbon of her classmate in the girl's hair. At the sound of her voice Aoi's head tipped far back to look Ruka's way. She didn't respond but Ruka didn't really care, she was just glad the girl was okay! "So you escaped that stampede, I'm so relieved!" Ruka pushed away from Harou and made her way over to her classmate not taking any notice to the fact that something just wasn't right with Aoi. Ruka couldn't see it but Harou sure as hell could. Aoi was acting strange compare to her normally bubbly self, usually you couldn't get Aoi to shut up even it would save her life and now all of a sudden she wasn't talking? Her fair skin was a claylike grey color and she lumbered about the hall walking into the walls and lockers as if she could see before Ruka called her name. It was when Ruka had started talking that Aoi seemed to realize they were there and advanced on them moaning and groaning the whole way just like whatever had attack the principal…what a minute.

"Ruka" Harou spoke "get away from her!"

"What?" Ruka look back at Harou with surprise and confusion. Her new boyfriend's body was utterly tense all of a sudden and he was glaring past Ruka at Aoi "what are you talking about Harou?" Ruka questioned "What's wrong? It's just Aoi-" Harou's nightmare was realized when Aoi was close enough to Ruka and let loose a horrendous yell lunging for her.

"Ruka!" Harou yelled crossing the distance between them faster than he thought he could somehow managed to tackle Ruka to the ground and out of the way of Aoi. When the two of them saw up and had a better look at this classmate Ruka's hand immediately covered her mouth with her hand trying not to shriek in terror: Aoi's whole back was drenched in blood and there was a chunk, a whole _chuck_, of her right shoulder missing! With all this blood loss how was she still moving! Aoi should be dead! Harou and Ruka watched Aoi stumble through the open space where they had once been before catching her footing. She paused there in that space for a moment before she began lugging around as if they hadn't been there at all.

"What the hell is going on?" Ruka yelled out

"Ruka no" Harou whispered harshly but it was too late, Aoi's head snapped around and she looked in their direction before charging at them again. Ruka screamed out knowing the two of them were in great danger at the moment, she shut her eyes and tried to shield herself from the assault that was about to befall her but Harou had a different reaction. His fingers found the handle of a broom on the hallway floor, it must have fallen from the storage closet during the stampede. Harou gripped it as tightly as he could and with one arm spread out in front of Ruka he swung the handle as hard as he could slamming the brush end against the side of Aoi's head, the force of the blow knocked the girl against the windows of the hall and crushed her head with sickening crunch. Silence fell onto the hall as blood splatter across the glass and Aoi's motionless corpse slid down to the floor.

"Harou you…You just" Ruka could look, she turned her head away from the sight of classmates crushed head.

"Are you aright Ruka?" The girl nodded to the question "come on" he slowly pushed himself to his feet "let's go find Akemi and get the fuck out of here"

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><p>Where was Akemi at the moment?<p>

Her unconscious form was sprawled across the steps knocked clean out from the fall that she had taken during the stampede that had long since disappeared. Groaning lightly Akemi opened her eyes taking in the sights of an utterly destroyed second floor. Windows were smashed and doors to classrooms were broken down but again that wasn't the worst of her problems. The first year was now staring at the lumbering masses of her school mate stumbling about the hall like mindless drones. Many had blood leaking from their eyes and mouths sporting large bite marks that took sufficient amount of their bodies from them but what was worst was awful fate of a young boy. He was screaming in terror as two others toppled a top him and began…_eating_ him. In her haze Akemi could hardly understand this utter horror she was only just regaining consciousness.

"Sasaki-sensei!" a male voice yelled over the groaning of the students lugging lazily around and into Akemi's ear "look! By the stairs!" No sooner did this voice yell this did the sounds of a beating taking place echoed around and someone dropped to their knees beside her.

"She's still breathing" a gentle hand tucked under her neck and raised her up gently turning her head so that she looked at the person. It was an adult, a male teacher, and as Akemi opened her eyes a bit wider she could see that he was looking her over. "What's your name?" he questioned her with a gentle voice

"…Sato Akemi" Akemi replied just as softly "first year…"

"Sato-san" the teacher addressed her "are you alright?"

"Yes" Akemi muttered grunting slightly as the teacher pushed her to a sitting up position "I fell down the steps and hit my head" she explained rubbing the back of her head where she had hit it and the teacher looked her over once or twice. Behind the teacher, Sasaki-sensei a math teacher for the third years Akemi believed, were a small group of students wielding baseball bats and large club like sticks. They charged at the students moaning and groaning around and swung at them bashing their head as hard as they could

"Has anyone attack you?" he asked her "have you been bitten anywhere?" what was with these questions?

"Huh?" Akemi mused

"This is important Sato-san" the teacher stressed "I have to know and you must be honest with me, since the announcement have you been bitten anywhere"

"N-No" Akemi shook her head and the teacher sighed in relief, what was going on? Why was it so important that she not be bitten? Akemi opened her mouth to ask this question but a loud gurgling yell stopped her. Blood splatter everywhere as one of the students that had been fighting was trapped between two others. He yelled as loudly as he could as one chomped down on his neck and the other on his arm.

"Sasaki-sensei!" a girl with bat in hand called, she swung hard and smashed the skull of one of the offenders "there's just too many of them! We have to get out of here!"

"Wagata" Sasaki nodded before turning his attention back to Akemi "can you stand?"

"I…Yes" Akemi nodded her head

"Akemi!" Akemi and Sasaki heard and looked, Akemi felt a large smile grace her lips at who stood atop the steps she sat before. Harou hurried down the steps skipping two or three as he went with Ruka close behind him. He was matted with blood and holding a bloody broom but he looked otherwise okay. Abandoning the weapon the third year dropped to his knees beside Akemi and yanked her away from Sasaki-sensei pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank god you're okay!" he breathed into her hair "I was scared that you were trampled or attacked!"

"Attacked?" Akemi repeated "what do you mean attacked?"

"Something is happening to the students" Sasaki answered this "They're attacking each other and eating each other. Those who get bitten and survive eventually die but they come back to life minutes later and start biting others"

"Like in the movies?" Ruka questioned, Sasaki nodded.

"Exactly like in the movies" he confirmed "only this isn't a movie, this is real and if we don't get out of here soon we're going to end up just lie 'them'" the adult turned his attention to Harou and the broom he had dropped on the ground "Ikeda-san have you killed anyone with that so far?"

"One" Harou answered "just a minute ago"

"Good I need students like you" Sasaki nodded "I'm going to get us all in my car and get us out of here but we're definitely going to face more of 'them' as we go" the teacher explained pushing himself up to his feet, Akemi and Harou followed suit, "If you stab 'them' in the heart they just keep going. So far it looks like the only way to kill 'them' is to crush their skulls…can you do that Ikeda?"

"…Yea I can" Harou nodded, another shriek thunder through the air. The students that had been doing so well just moments ago were now swarmed by 'Them' leaving just a few girls and three or so boy with weapons to defend them.

"Sensei!" one of the boys called out from the mess "what should we do?"

"Get out of here!" Sasaki yelled "Meet us by the front gate! If we're not there find somewhere to hide for the night and if we don't make there by morning get off school grounds and look for anyone else who survived! Understand?"

"Got it!" he nodded

"Come on" Sasaki turned to the three students with him "back up the stairs, go!"

"Akemi Ruka go!" Harou pushed them up first before going himself with the teacher close behind them. Up the steps they went hoping that the hall was as empty as it had been a moment ago but when they got to the third floor to their horror the hall was suddenly swarming with 'them' Harou cursed pushing his two friends behind him and getting ready to start swinging.

"Wait!" Sasaki-sensei stepped in "Go down the hall that way" he point down the opposite direction "keep running no matter what, don't look back"

"Wait but Sensei what about you?" Harou lessened his intense gaze

"Don't worry about me" Sasaki told the boy with a slight grin and a shrug, the bat he had in his hands shook slightly "I am a teacher after all, my first priority is to keep you students safe"

"Sensei don't!" Ruka yelled but it was too late, the teacher charged at the horde with a loud yell. He swung and swung as much as he could but it was too much, there were too many of 'them' and without much effort they swarms him and began eating him! They were eating him!

"Sensei!" Akemi moved to stop him.

"Stand back!" Harou stopped her as one of 'them' separated from the horde and charged for her. Akemi quickly back away and cowered with Ruka as Harou let loose a barbaric yell and swung the broom in his hands as hard as he could against one of 'them', bone caved sending blood and brains splattering against everything; the walls, the windows, the lockers and especially the young man that swung the broom and cause such a horrific mess. He jumped back as the corpse of his victim dropped to the floor panting the high school student gripped the broom by the handle tightly, there were still more of them, of their peers lugging slowly towards them looking just like that girl did: grey clay like skin, white sunken eyes and the stench of them like their flesh was rotting off them as they walked like mindless monsters.

"Ikeda-senpai" Akemi whimpered out taking in the sight of their fellow students advanced on the three of them. If they got close enough these three teens would suffer the horrible fate they had witness from their classroom window. Students were eating other students! Sasaki-sensei had been utterly devoured trying to save them! Harou glanced back at the two girls with panic shimmering in his burning green eyes.

"Run!" he ordered them taking Akemi by her wrist with his free hand and dragging her down the hall in the opposite direction with Ruka not far behind.

One after another, Harou swung the broom in his hand giving a very literal view to bashing skulls and leaving the hallway littered with the corpses of schoolmates and faculty alike. It didn't matter who they were, if they tried to get in the way he would put an end to them.

"In here, quick" Akemi yelped slightly as the third year yanked her into the nearest vacant classroom and Ruka entered he slammed it shut. "Ruka, get me the teachers desk. Push it over here quick!" Ruka nodded her head and while Harou kept the door shut with his body weight "Hurry Ruka"

"I-I'm trying!" Ruka grunted, the deck screeched loudly as she pushed and push until the desk was pushed up against the door.

"Good" Harou sighed "that should be enough to keep them back at least for now…"

"Oh thank god" Ruka sighed as well sinking to her knees. For once, after what felt like an eternity of hearing screams of terror and the horribly sink sounds of teeth biting down on flesh, silence grace the three teens and allowed them peace to sit and try to process what was going on. How could such a normal day turn into this madness? "Harou" Ruka turned her gaze to her classmate as the boy dropped onto his butt on the floor beside her "What _was_ that? What's _wrong _with everyone?"

"If I knew that we wouldn't be barricading ourselves inside a classroom now would we Ruka?" Harou replied leaning his back against the desk still trying to catch his breath.

A slight wave of relief washed over Akemi now that they were safe from 'them' even if for a minute. Quietly she moved across the room to the window overlooking the school ground. Sasaki-sensei was right, Akemi watched as far bellow students ran and terror as other students jumped them and bit into their flesh. What…what was going on? Akemi turned away from the window and stared Harou in the eyes before they fell to the floor. She began fingering the heart shaped tag attached to the cat collar strapped to her neck, it was a habit she had whenever she was looking for a source of support. Harou was her source of power.

"Akemi" Harou called out to her "you okay?" Akemi meekly nodded her head tucking red locks out of her face and behind her ear.

"They…They ate him" The young girl quivered at the very account "Like in those freaky video games, they just jumped him and started eating him!" Ruka blanched at the very memory of witnessing their classmates cluster around the teacher that have been protecting them not long ago and mercilessly feast on him like savage dogs! Akemi hugged herself her eyes tearing up as she recounted the gory sight in her head over and over again. This just had to be some kind of nightmare, there's no way this could really be happening!

"What are we going to do?" Ruka spoke up "We can't stay trapped in here forever"

"I don't know" Harou growled in frustration

"Well we have to do something!" Ruka yelled in a panic

"I know!" Harou yelled back "Just give me a fucking minute to think!" A minute would not be granted to him like he had requested. Within seconds of him yelling the upper part of the door shattered into splitters over the third years and the noise, the horrid groaning, poured into the classroom. Ruka shrieked crawling away from the desk before it tipped sideways from the pushing horde condensing in the doorway. It toppled onto Harou and the student yelled out from the extra weight.

"Ikeda-senpai!" Akemi yelped enveloped with terror

"Harou!"

"Don't worry about me!" Harou yelled at the two girls pushing the desk the best he could in his position and keeping those monsters out of the classroom for the moment "There's a door in the back of the room that leads to the next room! Take that door and get out of here!"

"But…" Ruka shook slightly "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me just get out of here!" Harou replied with a grunt, the desk groaned loudly under the force that was being applied to it. The girls could see from the strain on Harou's face that the weight being added onto the desk was becoming too much for him "Look!" He grunted when he saw that neither girl was moving "I can't keep these guys back for much longer but I can leave you guys enough time to get the fuck out of here so go!"

"I'm not leaving without you!" Ruka declared pushing herself to her feet and hurrying to her fellow third years side.

"Ruka no!" Harou glared at the girl as she too pushed the desk easing the weight off of the boy "Take Akemi and get out of here!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you!" Ruka glared back for a moment but her glare softened and she soon gained a sullen look "I'll follow you where ever you go Harou even if it means to the afterlife…"

"…Ruka…"

"Akemi!" the first year flinched when Ruka yelled her name "Go on and get out of here! Harou and I will buy you enough time to get away. Go find some others who have survived and stay with them! Understand?"

"Ruka…Ikeda-senpai…" Akemi whimpered still hugging her shaking body tightly and letting the tears that had been collecting in her eyes ran trains down her cheeks, she sank to the classroom floor conflicted in what she should do. Her eyes narrowed and in an instant the first year was suffering from tunnel vision, she couldn't hear the two older students yell at her to run. The broomstick… Akemi stopped shaking. The broomstick Harou had been using…it was just laying there begging to be used. As Akemi stared at the bloody item she heard one finally clicking sound ringing within her. It was of that lock coming off the latch it had been securing and it came crashing to the floor within Akemi loudly.

The first year pushed herself to her feet feeling a sudden jerk of energy within her, her heart pounded in her ears. Her two older friends stared with wide eyes as the girl trembled in her spot eyes expanding far larger than anyone thought they ever could. Sweat formed in her brow and ran down her face.

_There are a list of things that happen to the human body when "the fight or flight response" is activated is a person. The pupils will dilate end if in the dark allowing the person to see better and become more aware of their surroundings. The heart begins to race. The respiratory system speeds up providing more oxygen to the blood stream and thus the body. Sweat glands open providing a cooling system. Endorphins are released like a pain killer._

_Then lastly, your natural judgment system, the part of your brain that contributes to your deep thinking, shuts down. All and all the only thing left of the human body when the response in activated is a human with the bare bones primal instincts. We become animals with one simple word keeping us going…_

"Akemi what the hell are you doing?" Harou barked out "run!"

"I…"

"Akemi?" Ruka muttered eyes the girl curiously

"I…" Akemi shook violently letting her head hang "I don't want to die…"

_Survive_

"I don't want to _fucking_ die!" The look Akemi adapted to her face forced a startled gasped to come from Harou and Ruka. Before they could yell at her to run again the first year was moving, screaming loudly she charged away from the window.

"Akemi?" Ruka gaped

"Akemi _**no**_!" Harou yelled as loudly as he could but it was too late, Akemi scooped up the broom, held it like a sword and still screaming at the top of her lungs started swinging.

_In the end all "The fight or flight response" really comes down to is the primal instinct of survival. No one wants to die before it's their time so we can either fight or we can run away._

_Back when I was younger they use to call me a demon because of my red hair._

…_In that instant, when I activated my primal instinct…_

_I believed them._


	2. Demon of the dead

"Akemi!" Harou yelled at the top of his lungs watching from his pinned place as the first year hollered as loudly as she could and charged for the door that he had been trying to block so she could originally get away "_**NO**_!"

"GRAAAAGH!" A hurricane of a wind blew past Harou and Ruka's faces with the mighty swing Akemi had unleashed upon the horde that swarmed the door, with that one swoop she took out the heads of those pressing against the desk in a shower of blood, brains and fragments of bone. Even as this messy mixture splattered across her face and uniform she didn't show any sign that she knew it was there, she didn't slow down, she didn't stop. The row of 'them' that she had just taken out tumbled off the desk and into the rest behind 'them' in the hall. Akemi leapt atop the desk looming over 'them', there were so many of 'them' crowding the hall…Akemi scanned the area but no matter how hard she tried her emerald eye couldn't see the hall floor. Her odds looked slim but in her current state such a thought barely lasted a minute before she gripped the broom so hard her knuckles whitened and a wicked grin shrouded in sadistic pleasure came to her face.

Pushing herself from where she was kneeling, Ruka gazed over the surface of the desk and watched what Harou was unable to. The hall became a slaughter house and Akemi, the young sixteen year old Ruka had grown to recognize as a quiet and fragile pushover, was the butcher. Howling and hollering as she swung she took out at least three of them with each swing of the broom showing absolutely no care for her own well being but even though she was surrounded, and obviously appeared to have lost her mind, Akemi handled the broom like a skilled swordsman leaving Ruka to marvel at the first years kendo skill finally breaking through her mouse-like personally and shining true.

"Ruka" Harou's voice reached the third year through her dazed awe "Ruka help me from under here"

"Ah…anno…Hai!" Ruka cast one last look to the crazed first year but quickly focused on her boyfriend helping him push the desk off of him. With his lower half free Harou pushed himself up in a scrambling motion. "Are you okay Harou?"

"I'm fine" Harou spoke briefly "A-Akemi is she okay? Where is she?"

"Well…" Ruka trailed off

"Well what?" Ruka didn't answer this harsh comment, instead her gaze shifted and soon she turned her head to glance over the desk and out into the hallway.

Harou followed this motion and blanched at what he saw. The last of 'them' dropped to floor with only a clump of mushy flesh where 'their' head was supposed to be. The only thing left standing in the hall was Akemi, her uniform now stained almost completely with a red even darker than her hair. She kept her back to the doorway and the third years gazing out of it. Tresses of crimson hair fell in red waves off her shoulders as she tipped her head back and seemingly gazed up at the hallway ceiling that, too, was splattered with blood and other things one would find on the human face and within the human skull. She shuddered slightly dropping the broom to the floor and hugging herself tightly. Ruka and Harou watched as Akemi took in a deep breath and let a long sigh dance through the hall, a sigh that sent chill down both their spines. This sigh was not one of relief nor was it any sounds of horror at the utter massacre she had just committed, no; this sigh was a sound of satisfaction, of total absolute bliss. It was terrifying to hear such a sound come from Akemi given her current state.

"A…" Harou choked out, even though he hardly made a sound when he did Akemi seemed to hear it because slowly she released herself letting her hands drop to either side of her and with her head still tipped to the ceiling she turned to face the doorway "….Akemi you-" The boys words clung to his throat the second he gained Akemi's attention. The young girl let her head drop so she could look Harou in the eyes. What Harou stared at was not Akemi or at least it wasn't the Akemi that he had come to know so well. Dark blood drenched her face and soaked her hair though the latter one could hardly tell unless they looked closely. Her bright emerald eyes burned a deep green becoming wide with a look of insanity. Harou bit his tongue and Ruka gasped growing paler than she thought she ever could become.

This girl, who _was_ she?

_Hannya are vengeful women who, consumed by their hate and rage, become demons._

_That was something my mom liked to tell me growing it. She always warned me to never become jealous or obsessed with someone or something and to never hate. "Hatred" she said "is madness of the heart. It, that can destroy so much, never fails to destroy those who hate. That is an immutable law" Then she would tell me a story of a Hannya who went by the name of Kiyohime._

_Many years ago there was a monk by the name of Anchin. One day, as he returned to Dojoji after a very long journey, Anchin took rest at the house of the landlord Kiyotsugu. On that night Anchin sat in meditation in the room given to him only to be spotted by the daughter of the landlord. That daughter's name was Kiyohime. Kiyohime was taken by the sight of the monk and soon ran to her father and asked who this handsome stranger was. In a happy mood the landlord joked and told his daughter this:_

"_That is Anchin, a monk of Kishu Dojoji and one day he will be your husband"_

_Believing his words Kiyohime tiptoed into the bedroom where Anchin lay asleep and climbed into bed with him. Anchin did not have feelings for Kiyohime but she was a lovely woman so he allowed her to stay but by morning the monk overcame his passion. As he had originally planned, Anchin departed from the house with promises to Kiyohime that he would return for her. In her father's house she waited and waited and waited still but time had faded her from the monks mind and he never returned. _

_Kiyohime's joy became expectation, expectation became longing, longing became despair and when the lovely woman finally realized that Anchin wasn't coming back her despair was consumed by rage and hate. It burned and burned until it consumed her body and she turned into a serpent. Far across land and sea she traveled until she reached Dojoji._

_Spotting the serpent and knowing it was Kiyohime, Anchin fled to the bell of the Dojoji temple and hid within. Kiyohime would not be fooled though, the serpent demon smelled the source of her scorn and coiled her body around the bell banging it several times with her tail. Eventually Kiyohime gave a belch of fire and melted the bell killing the monk hidden within. Soon after she killed Anchin, Kiyohime too passed away._

_My mother told me the moral of the story was not to let myself hate or be consumed by hate because if I did I would become a Hannya, a demon spirit of my vengeful soul. For most of my life I heeded my mother's warnings and held any hatred and rage I had deep within me, but on the day that everything ended it broke free. I didn't bother to hold it back because demons are strong, demons have power and with the power of a demon I would survive._

_In the seconds that followed my realization I no longer cared for the lives of Ruka or Harou. All I cared about was preventing my own death and the sudden rush that came from taking another life to preserve my own._

_I fed off of it._

_I became a demon._

* * *

><p><strong>Act2.<strong> Demon of the Dead

* * *

><p>With all of 'them' gone Harou and Ruka pushed themselves up to their feet eyes fixed on Akemi and the demonic look of insanity that was on her face. Harou continued to gape at the girl while Ruka pressed her weight on the desk and leaned out of the doorway looking up and down the hall, to her surprise it was utterly cleaned out! Akemi took all of 'them' out on her own!<p>

"Are you okay Akemi?" Harou asked clambering over the teacher's desk and into the hallway and the number of corpses that covered it. Akemi didn't answer, she bent down and picked up the broomstick from the floor.

"We have to get out of here" Ruka flinched under Akemi's voice, she even _sounded_ differently than her normal self. Her voice was usually light hearted weak enough to be over powered by a soft breeze but now it was deep and sturdy with such darkness in it.

"She's right" Harou nodded offering Ruka a hand and helping her climb over the desk "I don't doubt that there's more of 'them' around the school and as far as I can tell they attack in hordes." The boy explained his thoughts "If we don't get out of here we might be attacked again and next time we might not be so lucky. Come on let-"

"We're going to the school gym" Akemi announced turning in the opposite direction that Harou was about to go.

"What?" Ruka snapped "Akemi that's all the way on the other side of the grounds, and besides the school gate is in the other direction" she glared at the first year pointing down the opposite hall Akemi was walking down to emphasis her point but much like Harou Ruka's words were ignored. The red haired young girl turned away from the two third years and began walking down the hall calmly. "Oi! Akemi are you listening? It's _dangerous_ to go down that way!"

"Do you want to die?" Akemi shouted over Ruka whipping around to glare at the girl silencing her quickly "Because if there's three of us and one weapon we're fucking screwed!" Her statement held water that was for sure, if they were attacked again they wouldn't be able to do much with just one broom even _if_ two of them could handle it pretty well "This broom isn't going to last long" Akemi told the two "it'll crack soon enough and be useless, do you want to be around when another horde of 'them' comes and it does?" there was no argument that could be made to this so neither third years said anything. Satisfied, Akemi turned around again and made her way down the hall she had originally intended to go down. Harou and Ruka exchanged tentative looks.

"What's gotten into her? She's acting strange" Ruka muttered to her new boyfriend

"She just dropped the F bomb…didn't she?" Harou said still very stunned, Ruka nodded with an equally surprised face. Of anyone the two of them knew, Akemi was not the one to run around swearing like most teenagers her age. She was polite and proper and even if she _did_ let a curse or two slip she'd quickly apologize for doing such. Sighing Harou took to jogging after Akemi and Ruka soon followed him. "What are we getting at the gym?" Harou asked once he had caught up with the first year's rapid walking.

"The kendo clubs equipment is there" Akemi answered simply "the same thing goes for the rest of the schools teams. We arm up there and then we get out of here"

"Okay so instead of just getting out of here right now and being safe off school grounds we're going to arm ourselves and fight our way out" Ruka remarked with a light snort, perhaps all this death had caused Akemi to go insane because so far as Ruka was concerned that was a crazy idea. Her words didn't settle well with Akemi, she actually stopped walking and fixed those demonic eyes on Ruka and glared at her.

"Don't be stupid Ruka" Akemi remarked

"Stu-" Ruka glowered at the insult "who are you calling _stupid_?"

"Think about it for a minute. When classes start, the gates to the school are shut and everyone is cleared from the halls and grounds. The staff may be lacking but if someone were to come to school acting like one of these guys" calm, calculating, emerald eyes shifted to the nearest corpse of one of 'them' sprawled out on the floor dead for good "'They' wouldn't be hard to miss, 'they' bleed from any gap blood can flow from and 'they' have a nasty habit of eating living people" she explained "'they' can't climb over a simple desk so I think it's safe to assume that 'they've' lost a good deal of 'their' motor skills. Now say this happen here, it's already midday wouldn't we have been cleared out by now? What are the chances that this started here in the school?" looking over her shoulder Akemi looked back at Harou and Ruka again "Chances are this came from outside the school and somehow managed to get here. Even if that isn't so it's smarter to be prepared" Akemi spoke turning back around and walking on "And if this is going on all over" she said over her shoulder "I want to be able to keep myself alive, if you want to take the risk that you're safer outside of school grounds unarmed then be my guest. Die for all I care"

"Well you didn't have to put it _that_ way" Ruka pouted trailing behind the girl

"What other way is there to put it?"

"A bit nicer maybe?"

"You've never been one to sugar coat words Ruka, why should I do the same when talking to you?"

"Why you little…"

From behind the two bickering teens Harou sighed keeping a slower pace just so he didn't have to stand beside the girls and be pulled into their arguments. Even with everything that had just happen to them those two could still talk like this. Either way Akemi was still right, the chances of this situation starting here were slim compared to the chances of it starting outside of school grounds and that point was proven even more when Harou looked out the hall window and saw black smoke rising from somewhere out in the city. It'd be safer is they were all armed with something to defend themselves…some wheels probably wouldn't hurt either.

"Is there some way we can get a car or something?" Harou spoke up stopping the girl short from their heated conversation, they both stopped and look back at him "Even if we do get out of here we can't just go running around like this, we'll just tire ourselves out faster that way…"

"You have a point" Akemi nodded "and you both have a driver's license right?"

"I have mine" Ruka spoke with a nod "but if things are as bad as you're guessing I don't think we'll need it. Any way we could get keys to one of the schools cars from the faculty room"

"We'll get them after we go to the gym"

* * *

><p>So the three of them moved on to the gym with Akemi taking down all of 'them' that stood in their way. Ruka was the first of the three to get to the doors of the gym but when she swung it open she quickly wished she hadn't been. The green hair girl cursed loudly slamming the door shut and pressing her back against it face utterly blanched.<p>

"Fucking _A_! The whole gyms filled with 'them'!" she exclaimed, it was bad enough they had a whole bunch of them slowly beginning to swarm behind them. Akemi was doing a good job so far but she was showing signs of fatigue after taking out packs of 'them' in the hall and down the steps and down even more halls until they reached the gym door. Akemi couldn't possibly take them all on! "What are we going to do?" Ruka began asking but paused at the sight before her.

Harou had his back to Ruka now and he was charging down the hall yelling out something at the top of his lungs. Ahead of him, Akemi had the broom raised high over her head and with a grunt she swung it wildly sweeping out five of 'them' in a row like baseballs as Harou neared her, he yelled out again.

"Tag!" Ruka was finally able to understand what he was yelling this time and it seemed that Akemi had heard him because she looked back and her demon eyes grew in size slightly. It was like nothing Ruka had ever seen before, as if it were part of her attack Akemi used the momentum of her swing to spin round and extend the broom's bloody brush to Harou. The third year boy took hold of it without hesitation jabbing it forwards as hard as he could. Akemi bend backwards when he did this, the broom's handle missing her face by inches and digging into the eye, and skull, of one of 'them'. The attack didn't stop there, oh no not by a long shot! Harou yanked the broom back and the one he attack dropped to the floor, Akemi's fingers found the wooden stick and Harou pulled her back into a straight position.

"Tag!" she called tightening her grip and whipping around fast. Harou turned as well pressing his back against hers as she swung the broom taking out yet another row of 'them' with her one arm swing. When the last of the front row was taken out Harou reached out and gripped the broom.

"Tag!" he yelled and like a back to back waltz the two teens spun until it was Harou facing them. He growled and charged them swinging like the baseball champ he was sending at least three of 'them' back and into others with the force of the swing.

"Tag!" Harou threw the broom behind him where it was caught by Akemi with ease, Harou bent down and Akemi rolled over his back and easily used the momentum to crack the skull of one of 'them' with enough force that the sound of it resonated about the hall.

That was how it went from that point of. Ruka watched in awe as Akemi and Harou slowly began lowering the number of 'them' that took up the hall. The motion looked like a never ending attack, when one drew back from their attack the other would take the broom and lunge forward with their own and the only signal they used to inform the other that it was time to handoff the broom was yelling out the work "Tag" as if they were tagging the other out and stepping in. The two of them did it in such quick motions too, it was like one body split into two in a mesmerizing dance. It was clear to Ruka that these two didn't need her help and they were far braver than her. To think, a soft spoken first year was braver than Ruka and could so easily make her feel useless. Ruka hung her head and frowned, she couldn't just let the two of them do all the work while she stood back and did nothing! She had to be brave too! But what could she do?...

"The stuff…" it accrued to Ruka and she looked back at the gym door she had her back pressed against. That's right! She could get the things that they needed! It wasn't like she was some fat, slow, stupid bitch that wouldn't be worth shit in battle! Ruka was the captain of the track team! She had top grades in her class! And she sure as hell knew what each of them would be able to handle the best, if Harou and Akemi could team up so perfectly and take out so many of 'them' Ruka could go in there and get the weapons that they needed to get the fuck out of here.

"Tag!" Ruka heard Akemi yell out behind her as she quietly pulled the door to the gym back open and slipped inside shutting her eyes and bracing for what she expecting: being pounced by the gym full of 'them'. She was met with nothing and groaning, relaxing Ruka opened up her eyes and glanced around, none of 'them' had suddenly charged at her and started devouring her like she thought 'they' would. 'They' just went on like 'they' had before like she wasn't even there…

"What on earth?" Ruka muttered watching as one slowly made its way towards her, she stepped out of the way and it breezed past her walking right into a wall "It didn't see me" she observed with eyes of shock "are 'they'…are 'they' blind?" but then she remembered what Akemi had said before, about them losing most of 'their' motor skills "No…No…maybe 'they' haven't. It's almost like…like the only functions 'they' have are to move, grab and eat" the green hair third year muttered under her breath thinking the best she could as she moved about the room as carefully as she could without running into any of 'them' "This… this really _is_ like one of those freaky video games" but this wasn't the time or place to be thinking about this kind of thing, all Ruka needed to do was get was she came in here to get. "Where is the supply close-" the girls words were cut short when she realized, perhaps a second too late, that she was dangerously close to one of 'them' she yelped spinning herself round to avoid it only to lose her footing, she fell onto the floor on her butt and her back rammed a cart of basket balls.

The collision sent the cart wheeling away from Ruka. She watched frozen in her spot as the cart wheeled across the gym, taking out some of 'them' as it went, before crashing against the wall across from her loudly. Ruka winced, this was it! She was done for! But then…then they didn't turn their heads towards her. No, they turned their heads in the direction of the sound and slowly the lot of 'them' turned in the direction and began hording about the cart. It was like before with Aoi, Ruka recalled the girl hadn't actually acknowledge her or Harou when they found her on the third floor until Ruka had broken the silence of the hall and called her name. So…they only reacted to sound huh?

"Now that they're busy…" Ruka muttered softly to herself "let's find those supplies…"

* * *

><p>"Tag!" Akemi yelled, Harou, who was kneeling on the ground from his attack, held the broom with both hands and raised it over his head. Akemi charged gripping the broom, her feet pushed off the floor and she did a full flip over the third years head like some sort of gymnast landing on her feet hard. Swinging once she swiped the next row of 'them' by their legs causing 'them' to trip and fall to the tile floor.<p>

"Tag!" Harou suddenly appeared behind her, she passed the broom to him and knelt down as low as she could go giving Harou space to leap clean over her yelling like a savage. He landed on one their heads and stomped down hard enough to cave it's head into itself as one by one he killed each one of 'them' that Akemi had tripped. There were only a few of 'them' left, perhaps just one last tag in.

"Tag!" Akemi gripped the broom but this time instead of lunging forward in a fluent motion something went wrong. Harou moved to swing it down again while Akemi had the handle bent in the other direction. The wood crack and soon broke with a loud, echoing _**SNAP!**_

No longer having the weight of the other holding on Harou and Akemi lost their balance stumbling apart and falling to the floor grunting in pain and surprise as they did. Pushing herself up quickly Akemi stared down at her hands gasping as the only thing she found in their grasp was the handle and half a broom. The broom had broken and with it Harou's and her successful tag teaming, now they were screwed! Akemi glanced back at 'Them', the snap of the broom must have been pretty loud because not there were more of 'them' suddenly appearing in the hallway, more then she could take on right now. Akemi didn't want to admit it but she was getting tired…she couldn't keep going like this.

"Shit" Harou swore from across Akemi glaring down at the broom brush he had gripped in his hand tightly before turning this angry look at 'them' "I think we're screwed Akemi"

"…as much as I hate to admit it" Akemi panted "I think you're right"

"Didn't think I'd be dying this young though"

"That makes two of us"

So, the two of them sat on the floor panting and waiting for their ultimate demise at the hand of 'them' when suddenly.

"Tag!" a new voice echoed through the hall, it was Ruka! Perking up Akemi looked behind her where the gym door was. The green haired girl was bounding over the piles of corpses lugging something with her that Akemi couldn't make out. Did…did she just yell tag? But why? When Ruka was close enough she chucked one of the things she was carrying at Harou before extending something else to Akemi. The red haired girl latched onto it quickly and gasped, it was the wooden surface of a bokken, a wooden sword from the kendo club! A wicked grin spread across Akemi's face when she realized this. Ruka returned the grin with one of her own holding onto the end of the bokken with both her hands and used all the strength in her to pull Akemi to her feet and send her flipping towards 'them'. With a weapon she was more familiar with Akemi's hollered wildly as she shot towards 'them' and got ready to start swinging. She landed on her hands and rolled to a kneeling position swiping 'them' like she had before. "Tag!" Ruka yelled again from behind her gripping a hockey stick in her hands, the green haired girl leaped forward, stepping on the first years back and pushing off launching herself into the air and slamming the stick down on the nearest one of 'them' before moving on to the nearest one to her.

It went on like this for a few more minutes until finally there were none left.

Thanks to Ruka, the three teens took out the rest of 'them' that swarmed the hall and were moving on their way to the faculty room. Akemi took the lead moving at a fast pace down the empty hall ready for any more of 'them' to come their way.

"That gym had to be filled with 'them' Ruka" Harou spoke behind her as they moved "are you crazy going in there by yourself unarmed?"

"I couldn't just stand there and let you guys work yourselves to death" Ruka countered from the back "But I discovered something, these things… 'they're' blind"

"'They're' blind?" Akemi repeated glancing back at the third year girl who nodded her head

"I walked around 'them' to the supply closet and back and none of 'them' acknowledged me or even seem to notice that something else was in the room with 'them' " Ruka explained "But when I knocked a cart over they followed the sound… 'They' only seem to respond to sounds, 'they' can't actually see us"

"So that's why 'they' started swarming again when the broom snapped, 'they' must have acute hearing or something" Harou hummed, the three of them slowed down when they arrived a cross way in the halls.

"Maybe" Ruka nodded " 'their' only concern seemed to be eating-"

"_shh_!" Akemi held a hand out to the two silencing them, she pressed her back against the hall wall and listened closely. Harou and Ruka quieted down and tensed up when she did this, something was coming down the hall… could it be one of 'them'?...only one way to find out

"Akemi" Ruka whispered in worry as the girl slowly made her way to the corner bokken ready "Akemi what are you doing?"

"Be quiet" Akemi whispered back harshly, it was right there! Akemi could see the shadow of it! The first year tensed up, she could get the jump on it if she timed her attack right. An eerie silence filled the hall before finally Akemi sprung into action. Both she and her target rounded the corner with great speed. Akemi swung her bokken, just as it reached the neck of her target and she saw their face Akemi stopped. The bloody surface of another bokken was pressed against her own neck by the person she was about to attack. Both of them froze staring at one another with wide eyes for a long while, it was Akemi that broke the silence.

"Busujima-teichou" she muttered lowering her weapon, she knew this girl, this was Busujima Saeko a third year and Akemi's kendo club captain. She taught Akemi all the skills she had been displaying over the few hours that had past so far. Recognition crossed the captain's face and she too lowered her weapon.

"Sato-chan" she visibly relaxed and a tiny smile graced her face "You made it"

"Mm" Akemi nodded her head to this. It was now that Harou and Ruka rounded the corner as well breathing sighs of relief when they realized it wasn't more of 'them' waiting for them around the corner.

"Busujima-San" Harou nodded to his classmate. He wasn't surprised that Busujima Saeko had survived, she was a tough one and most guys, Harou included, found her to be intimidating but Akemi didn't. From her demon gaze a look of security came to the first years face.

"It's good to see that you've made it as well Teichou, I'm glad you're okay" she said to Busujima

"I'm glad you're okay too" Busujima replied.

"Busujima-San" someone spoke behind her, the four teens looked to see the school nurse coming down the hall "did you find some others?... Oh, Sato-chan...and Okamoto-chan and Ikeda-kun are here too" Ruka smiled big at the sight of the nurse.

"Looks like Marikawa-sensei is safe too" she breathed out "that's good, we might need some medical help and even if we don't it's never a bad thing to have around"

"Where were you three going?" Busujima asked Akemi

"To the faculty room" she replied calmly "we figured the rest of town would be like this and that it would be better if we had a car to drive around in instead of trying to travel on foot" Busujima nodded her head.

"That's exactly where we were going" she told the first year before turning and making her way down one of the many halls "come on let's go"

"Hai, Teichou" Akemi was quick to follow and so her group of three became a group of five: four students and one adult. With Busujima now with them Akemi visibly calmed down, Harou had noticed. Her body was less tense and whenever she looked back at him her eyes weren't that intense demonic stare she had adapted back when she first started fighting 'them', Akemi followed her captain's lead simply knocking 'Them' down as they went instead of flat out killing them. As it would turn out knocking them down was just as effective as killing them because they seem to have a hard time getting back up.

"The faculty room huh?" Busujima muttered from the front of the group "what a pain in the ass

"But all the keys are there" Marikawa explained "if we want to get out of here by car we'll have to go there first"

"Will we be taking your car Marikawa-sensei?" Ruka asked as she walked beside the nurse who nodded her head in response.

"Say Busujima-chan" Marikawa turned her attention back to Busujima "I noticed you aren't killing them anymore, I thought you said it was simple"

"It is" Busujima replied "but it's just as effective to knock 'them' down and it save energy. 'They' travel in packs so saving our energy by knocking 'them' over will help us in the long run"

"Wow" Marikawa hummed "I'm so impress-ah!" with a loud thumb the adult tripped and fell to the hall floor. The group stopped turning their attention to the woman, Ruka was the only one to kneel beside her and see if she was okay. "Dammit" Marikawa curse "what is wrong with me?"

"It's not you" Akemi spoke up slinging her bekkon over a shoulder and eyeing the adults tight pencil skirt, "it's your clothes, they're not exactly made to run around in" fashion and survival were two things that probably would never mix well in reality at least not for women or people who cared about getting blood on their clothes. Busujima nodded to Akemi's statement and kneeled down to Marikawa as well.

"If you're going to survive we'll have to fix that"

_Riiiiiiiiip!_

"Aaaah!" the nurse yelped out in horror "what do you think you're doing? This is _Prada_!"

"What's more important Marikawa-sensei?" Harou asked the fuming woman with a bored face "your clothes or your life?"

"Both are!" Marikawa protested stubbornly earning nothing but a sigh in return from Harou. The boy turned away from her glares and rubbed the back of his neck slightly.

"Not even now will I ever understand you women..."

"So..."Akemi spoke up awkwardly "the faculty office..." she tried to remind everyone but fate would still have them off track just a bit. Not long after they started walking again did a high pitched scream echo through the halls, it gave an air of utter terror and unlike the yells of students falling victim to 'them' this scream didn't fade away. It held strong and that only meant one thing, someone was in trouble.

"Let's move!" Busujima took off running and Akemi was close behind, farther down the hall they found the source of the scream. There were two students, a girl and a guy, in the gallery area, where all the school trophies were held, and they were surrounded. Just as they arrived at the gallery two other students arrived from the opposite hall, also a girl and a guy. At the moment one of the girl's, who Akemi had to assume had been the one to scream, had a power drill plunged into one or 'their' heads and had the power at full blast.

"Takagi..." muttered the boy who had just come from the opposite way. He, like Harou, held a baseball bat in his hand and he eyed the mass of 'them' that was approaching because of the scream the girl known as Takagi had let off.

"We'll take the ones on the right" Busujima spoke glancing back at Akemi who nodded

"Rei" the guy spoke turning to the girl with him ho nodded

"We'll take the left" she stated.

They split up taking the sides they claimed while Ruka and Harou took the position of guards to Marikawa for they were sure at this point they would need a nurse. Seeing as there were more people fighting now and there weren't that many of 'them' to begin with the task of cleaning 'Them' out was finished fairly fast and before long Rei was running over to Takagi to see if she was okay.

"Hey" Busujima addressed the boy "I'm sure you know Marikawa-sensei right? I'm Busujima Saeko, class A third year" she introduced herself.

"Komuro Takashi, second year class B" the boy introduce himself

"Sato Akemi" Akemi spoke next "First year class D"

"I'm Ikeda Harou, I'm in class A too" Harou grinned and introduced himself with a wave

"I'm in class A too" Ruka chirped "Okamoto Ruka"

"Miyamoto Rei I'm from B as well" the girl who had arrived with Komuro said and last but not lease there was the boy who had been with this girl Takagi. He was a chubby guy and he was currently carrying what looked like a modified nail gun, he adjusted his thick framed glasses before bow politely to everyone.

"Uh...hi I'm Hirano Kohta also from class B, it's nice to meet you all!" he smiled

"It's nice to meet you too!" Ruka giggled more than happy to be socializing with others rather than focusing on killing and surviving like she had for most of the afternoon.

"Why are you all being so warm and friendly all of a sudden" this was Takagi speaking from her place on the floor, she was drenched in blood and shuddering much like Akemi had before but these weren't shudders of delight. "If we keep acting like this we won't be so lucky next time!" she screamed out suddenly

"Hold on Takagi-" Komuro tried to settle the pink haired girl but she interrupted him with a fierce glare a scream worthy of being compared to a banshee.

"Shut up Komuro!" she yelled out "you're all so _stupid_! I'm smarter than all of you! You're lucky I'm even in the same school as you lot!" she began screaming. It was clear though that she really meant no harm in her words. It was like that moment for Akemi back in the classroom, that sudden snapping point that today just seemed to be yanking out of people. This was just Takagi's way of dealing, utterly breaking down and shouting about how better she was compared to the rest of them. She screamed on like this for a few more minutes until Busujima had heard enough and placed a firm hand on Takagi's shoulder. Right then and their Takagi broke down fully and began crying into Busujima's uniform.

_As I grew more accustom to fighting 'them' I started to question what my mother had warned me about becoming a Hannya. I mean if you looked at the situation now what was so bad about becoming a demon? To truly surrender to the will of one's rage and let it grant them unimaginable strength to be used to reach ones desires. Like in the story of Kiyohime and her utter thirst for vengeance. She let her rage towards Anchin fester and grow and keep growing until the heat of it changed her shape into that of a serpent. She used that new found power to travel the distance and exact revenge on the man who wronged her._

_That was what we were doing, or at least what I was doing. With me hidden rage I was striking 'them' down in ways and numbers that I'm certain I would never have been able to if I hadn't taken this new form. However…this weeping girl, this Tagaki, just proved to me something… Perhaps becoming a demon wasn't such a great thing._

_Perhaps humans lack all skills needed to hold back the power of a demon…_

_If that is so then what will become of me when this is over? Will I stay like this or will my rage destroy me like my mother said it would? Or maybe I will simply pass away like Kiyohime in the story._

_The thought of what might become of me scared me a bit…_

* * *

><p>"Here" Akemi blinked out of her daze when a towel was held out in front of her face. She stared at it confused before her stare traveled up the arm holding the cloth and met the face of the glasses wearing boy who she had just met not too long ago. He smiled a wide friendly smile at her even though Akemi looked at him bewildered by his offer. "There's a bathroom just over there" he told her pointing behind him to a small room separate from the faculty room "Takagi-san just finished washing up, I thought you might want to wash up as well since you're totally covered in blood"<p>

"…Oh" Akemi mused gently taking the towel from the boy "Thank you…uh Hirano right?"

"Right!" Hirano nodded his head cheerfully before stepping back and allowing Akemi to stand up "It looks like we're going to take a breather here for a while before we try to get out of here so take your time okay?" Akemi nodded before slowly making her way to the bathroom. There was a mirror over the sink in the bathroom, probably for those female teachers that needed to primp up their hair and makeup before going to class. When Akemi gazed into it she almost screamed out in fear of the terrible beast that stared back at her. It was drenched in blood as red as its hair and its eyes glowed a bright green holding a look of total insanity, this was a monster and it looked like it wanted nothing more than to devour Akemi. She would have run, she would have tore out of the bathroom screaming but she looked closer at the image before her and realized…this evil creature…this monster was _her_!

"Hirano-senpai was right" Akemi muttered to herself "I really _am_ covered in blood…" she reached up a hand and ran her fingers across her cheeks, the still wet blood smeared under her touch painting pale, untouched skin red even though she tried to wipe it away. She ran the sink water and like she had been advised began to rinse and scrub at her face trying her best to get as much blood as she could off her skin. There was no point in worrying about her uniform, if there were more of 'them' out there that she had to face it would pointless in trying to get the blood stains out right now so she would focus on her face, her hands and her legs. As she dried her face of with the towel Hirano had given her Harou appeared in the doorway leaning against it and watching the first year.

Harou was still fairly surprised by all he had witness the young girl do ever since all of this started. She fought like she was a veteran to battle and when he fought alongside her it was like magic had accord, suddenly they could read each other's minds and move in such a fluent motion. Sort of like a yin and yang kind of thing, it was an amazing thing to experience. With a sigh Akemi lowered the towel and glanced Harou's way, to the third years relief her eyes had expanded back to the big, green beauties they usually were and her facial features had settled down back to their normal gentle selves, whatever had suddenly possessed Akemi before had left her.

"Ikeda-senpai" Akemi softer, gentler voice acknowledged Harou though the honorific she had used made him frown. He deserved having her push him away like that, today was the second anniversary and he spent it locking lips with Ruka, perhaps things would be better if he hadn't waited until today…

"We're going to rest here" Harou told Akemi gently "Then when we've all caught our breath we're going to head out to one of the school buses"

"We're taking one of the buses?" Akemi curved a red brow and Harou nodded his head in confirmation.

"There are more of us now" he explained to her glancing over his shoulder at the eight or so others spread out around the faculty room drinking bottles of water or just sleeping at desk "We can't try and cram everyone into Marikawa-sensei's car, it's too small, so we're going to take one of the keys to the bus and use it"

"I see" Akemi spoke softly looking back at her reflection in the mirror and checking herself for any blood she might have missed, that was it she addressed him no more. Harou sighed softly to himself, this was what he deserved for being so very cruel to her after all.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her with concern in his voice.

"I'll live" Akemi replied shrugging her shoulder "I don't think saying that I'm fine is appropriate, considering the circumstances. If I were alright I would be insane" She pulled away from the sink and carefully folded up the towel she had used to dry off her face.

"You looked like you were doing okay though" he told her "I mean…the way you handle 'them' was-"

"The same way anyone else would have if they wanted to survive" Akemi finished Harou's sentence for him "But…Ikeda-senpai I…I was scared" her confession brought a shudder over the young first year "I was absolutely terrified out there and most of all horrified with what I was doing…I… we…we _killed_ people Senpai" emerald eyes watered and two big tears ran down Akemi's paled face, she hugged herself lowering her head in shame "We killed our teachers and our classmates…What kind of _monsters_ are we?"

"We're not monsters" Harou corrected the shivering girl, he stepped into the already small room and pressed his hands onto Akemi's shoulders. She raised her head to look at him with a light sniffle "We had to do it to survive Akemi" he told her firmly "And 'they' aren't people anymore, you've seen what 'they' are capable of what 'they' have done to others. If we don't kill 'them' then we'll end up just like 'them' do you understand?"

"I know" Akemi whimpered out "But…"

"Don't worry about it so much Akemi" Harou told the girl softly "you don't have to fight if you don't want to…I promise I'll protect-"

"I'll leave you to clean yourself up now" Akemi interrupted Harou shacking herself free from his grip and pushing past him hurrying out of the small space.

_He might not be a monster but I knew that I was…Because as I was killing 'them' I enjoyed every minute of it._

"…Due to the large number of riots through the country, the government has been forced to rethink its emergency policy" This caught Akemi's attention as she stepped out of the bathroom turning her eyes upward towards the staff TV just like everyone else. So she had been right, this started outside of the school. Busujima turned the volume up for everyone to listen to and Akemi sat atop one of the desk watching as a reporter woman stood before and ETM and countless bodies in bags. "However, when questioned on the ability of the self defense force to maintain public order, representatives would not comment. The local death toll had already surpassed 1,000"

"Oh god" Ruka gasped from behind Akemi as the reporter when on reporting not at all noticing that the body bags laid out behind her were slowly starting to rise to sitting positions. Akemi stared in horror at what she was seeing.

"Oh… this just in! The police have made an announcement! They still don't know what to make of the current situation…" the reporter never finished, suddenly the camera tipped and fell over. The screen went fuzzy and all everyone could hear screams of terror. The screen went blank probably because the TV network cut the signal. An eerie silence befell the room while everyone took in what they had just witnessed. So this was a country wide epidemic…

"Harou" Ruka whimpered out "what are we going to do? What about our families?"

"It's going to be alright Ruka" Harou comforted the girl wrapping his arms around the green haired girl running his hands through her hair. Akemi looked back at these two for moment before slowly turning back around and staring out of the nearest window. Billows of smoke rolled into the sky out in the distance.

_I don't think my mother was right when she told me the moral of her story._

_If you ask me the reason it was the monk's fault that beautiful Kiyohime became a demon. He baited her with promises of his return and easily let her slip from his memory. The story was a lesson to those who make false promises and the price was the lives of two individual who could have so easily went on with their own lives if Anchin had done the right things. It was poetic justice that he died at the hands of Kiyohime's hatred and rage even at the cost of her own life._

_My mother sometimes tells me that "there is no sweeter revenge then forgiveness"_

_The day everything ended there was no room for forgiveness_


	3. Escaping the Dead: a Temporary solution

_A long time ago I was told a story from Greek mythology._

_It was about a woman by the name of Pandora. To punish Prometheus, who stole fire from heaven, Zeus, the king of gods, gave Pandora away with a gift to celebrate her marriage to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother. She was given a beautiful box under the condition that she would never open it. Unbeknownst to Pandora this was a trap set by Zeus, ever vengeful to Prometheus, with the intent of making the woman so curious that she would open the box._

_Time past after she was given this gift and with it Pandora's curiosity grew. Why, she wondered, would one be given a gift if it wasn't meant to be opened? And so Pandora slipped the big key into the lock and unlocked this box._

_As soon as she opened the lid just a crack all the evils of the world sprouted forth and were unleashed onto earth. Startled she tried to shut the lid back onto the box and once again lock the evil away but it was too late. By the time she had gotten the box shut tight all the bad she had unleashed had sprung free. Or at least that's how the story goes._

**"…Due to the large number of riots through the country, the government has been forced to rethink its emergency policy. However, when questioned on the ability of the self-defense force to maintain public order, representatives would not comment. The local death toll has already surpassed 1,000"**

**"Oh god" Ruka gasped from behind Akemi as the reporter went on reporting not at all noticing that the body bags laid out behind her were slowly starting to rise to sitting positions. Akemi stared in horror at what she was seeing.**

**"Oh… this just in! The police have made an announcement! They still don't know what to make of the current situation…" the reporter never finished, suddenly the camera tipped and fell over. The screen went fuzzy and all everyone could hear were screams of terror. The screen went blank probably because the TV network cut the signal. An eerie silence befell the room while everyone took in what they had just witnessed. So this was a country wide epidemic…**

"There appears to be a problem…" Akemi turned her attention from the window back to the television as the voice of yet another reporter came to the room. It would appear that they changed the focus back to their studio instead of what might have happen to one of their field crews "from now on we'll be bringing the story to you from our studio" the reporter on the screen explained "the situation outside is extremely chaotic so please stay indoors unless it's absolutely necessary for you to go outside. We'll provide more information as soon as it's safe to cover the sight" whatever else the report said after this couldn't be heard over the loud bang on someone's fist against one of a desk in the room.

"Dammit!" it was Komuro who had done this "Why won't they tell us anything else?"

"…" the red head stared at the boy for a brief moment before turning her attention to the television and turning down the volume with the remote "If I had to guess" she just barely found her voice when she said this but it was easy for the others to hear her "I would say it's so they don't start a panic"

"A Panic?" Miyamoto repeated

"Of course stupid!" Takagi jumped in with a snap to her tone as if Akemi's statement were the most obvious conclusion in the world. The girl adjusted her glasses so they settles high up the bridge of her nose "with panic come chaos and chaos causes a disruption of order and if that happens you might as well hand it over to the walking corpses!" as harsh as the upper classman was she was definitely right.

"Ikeda-senpai" Akemi spoke up "Ruka…" the pair turned their heads to look at her as did the rest of those with them. Akemi looked at none of them instead she focused on the destruction outside the window and beyond the gates of the school "we saw it for ourselves what happens when order is disrupted… stampedes, senseless fighting…" like what had happen to them when this first started Akemi would not soon forget the stampede that had sent her tumbling down the school steps her head still throbbed slightly from it "everyone wants to live but with no order to them no one can agree on how we should go about doing it and if we aren't united we're about as useful a bag in the wind…"

"Exactly" Takagi nodded her head to the first year's words before turning her attention back to the news on the television. Akemi turned the volume back up for everyone to listen. Changing the channel a couple of times the group was able to learn a good deal of the situation at the moment. It wasn't just their school that was being affected or their town or Japan for that matter they found out before they lost signal and the TV screen became snowy. Some countries were in total ruin and other had not been heard from since it started. All and all the world as a whole had been blind sighted by this sudden event.

_I can only imagine that this is what the world looked like the days that that had happen… perhaps it had happen again, I wondered. Perhaps someone had unintentionally opened a box they shouldn't have…_

_And so all the worlds Evils were thrust upon us._

* * *

><p><strong>Act 3<strong>. Escaping the dead: a temporary solution.

* * *

><p>"This is crazy" Hirano remarked "I mean everything was just fine when I checked the internet this morning…"<p>

"Yea but that only proves how serious this is" Busujima replied smoothly from where she leaned against a teacher's desk "if the world could turn into all of this in a matter of hours then we're in serious trouble"

"But things will go back to normal won't they?" Ruka mused hopefully she had become extremely pale upon watching the news reports with everyone else and though she offered her company a small smile it was easy to tell that she was scared and hopelessly grasping at straws. She drew close to Harou for comfort gripping his arm tightly "they have to be able to stop it from spreading right"

"Look around you Ruka" Akemi voiced out harshly "it's already spread"

"And it's not going to get better from now on" Takagi added just as bluntly

"Do you have to be so harsh?" Komuro glared at the two of them as Ruka whimpered pressing her face against Harou's shoulder. Akemi glared back at the upperclassmen fiercely, he blinked taking a step back under the young girl's harsh glare.

"I don't think we're being harsh enough" the red head replied sharply "This -whatever this is- is a _pandemic_. Don't you think if it could be contained it would have been already?" and it was a true thought, looking out how things had been going around the world right now and seeing how all the other countries were dealing with this made it more than clear that it was something that couldn't be stopped or contained in less than a day. As the rest of the group fell into silence the young redhead gained a look of being in deep thought. Even the United States was having trouble dealing with this, they probably already sent their president to an unknown bunker for protection, and other counties like Russia…well no one knows what's happening to them. If these powerful countries haven't gotten things under control how could anyone expect them to?

"A Pandemic" Busujima repeated

"Remember that scare with the bird flu?" Takagi spoke up "Well imagine that tenfold and much worse" The older girl adjusted her glasses and turned ever so slowly so that she was facing the window and staring out at the grounds of the school were 'they' wondered about mindlessly. The air around the school was quiet so the initial chaos was over. Those who weren't able to get away from 'them' at this point were either one of 'them' now or dead and those who survived were most likely just like Akemi and the rest of these people: Huddles in groups hiding somewhere in the school and trying to figure out what to do next. "This is like the Spanish influenza of 1918" Takagi muttered out in deep thought "600 million people were infected and more than 50 million died before a solution was found…"

"That may be true" Marikawa added "but I think this is more like the black death of the 14th century"

"A third of the European population died" Akemi's tone hitched with her surprise at the comparison offered by the nurse, she had to say despite herself she was impressed.

"You're smarter than you look" Takagi expressed Akemi's own thoughts.

"So how did those pandemics end?" Komuro questioned the adult. Considering she was a nurse she had to know the ins and outs of the medical field including past illnesses so she had to know what cured them. Marikawa hummed putting a finger to her chin in self thought.

"Well they usually stopped when too many people die" the nurse answered in a matter of fact tone "there aren't enough people for the decease to continue to spread" made enough sense, if everyone has the same thing it can't spread and then it dies with the people who have it leaving those who survive free from infection.

"There's just one problem though" Hirano remarked in an ominous tone of voice he joined Takagi in staring out the window at 'Them' "the dead aren't staying dead, they're getting back up and attacking the living"

"So you're basically saying we're stuck with these things?" Harou questioned

"They're corpses aren't they?" Marikawa suddenly piped up looking hopeful all of a sudden as she did "so they're bound to decompose!"

"So then all we need to do is find a safe place to stay until they all rot away!" Ruka smiled brightly at the idea of the problem naturally fixing itself but Akemi wasn't so easily sold. With a curious expression directed at the nurse Akemi posed a question.

"How long would that take?"

"Huh? Well" Marikawa was taken aback by the question for a moment before her finger returned to her chin and her gaze went upward it thought. "It takes some parts of the body about 20 days to become skeletal..."

"Wouldn't it go by faster in the summer because of the heat?" Hirano questioned

"But then it progressively becomes slower as winter comes around" Marikawa answered still thinking deeply as if past those blonde locks, within that skull math was being done "so I'd say maybe..." the nurse grinned sheepishly at the students standing around her expectantly "about a few months or so?"

"Was that a statement or a question?" Harou mutter curving a brow.

"You're kidding me. She's not as smart as she looks" Busujima remarked flatly with a roll of her eyes. Crossing her arms the kendo captain shifted so she was sitting comfortably on the nearest desk that happen to be beside Akemi "besides" she continued "we can't say for sure 'they' even decompose"

"'they' already defy the laws of nature by not dying" Ruka grumbled out "so what do we do now?"

"Let's get out of here for one thing" Komuro was the one to speak up and suggest what they do from here on "we wanted to stop at our houses and see if we can find out if our families are alright" he motioned to his companion "what about you guys?"

"Sound good to me" Hirano nodded his head.

"Where are your parents..."

The rest of the conversation was phased out by Akemi and she went back to looking out the window. The day was slowly becoming the evening and never before had she felt such uncertainty about how the evening would go.

Sato Akemi, like most girls her age, was a creature of habit and repetition. Her daily schedule was usually always the same, never changing, besides one thing or the other in fact it was so set she could make a good guess as to what she would be doing right now if this were a normal day...

Gym... She'd be in gym class but today wasn't a normal day. Today was different. Today, a great change had come.

_Change...yes change. On the day that everything ended everything I was certain of: my friends, my school, even my own mortality changed. It had all started with a great change for me... Yea...Ikeda had caused that great change perhaps it was this that opened the great box of evils._

_Change truly is what starts those stories one reads in a book or sees on the television. It starts off as any ordinary, normal day with the same ordinary, normal people doing the same ordinary, normal things that do on any other ordinary, normal day but then something happens. There is a shift so small that if one were to encounter it they would simply brush it off as odd and go about their business but then the change grows, gets bigger and harder to ignore like a snowball rolling down a hill until it rearranges the very definition of one's ordinary, normal life and their ordinary, normal day. No matter what it is. A change in the daily route, a change in the morning coffee or even a change it feelings towards another._

_It all starts with a change._

"Sato-chan" Hirano's voice broke Akemi's trail of thought and she focused on the group again only to find them looking at her.

"Hm?" she hummed out, she could feel heat coming to her cheeks because she was suddenly the center of attention.

"What about your family?" the boy questioned "Do you know where they are right about now?"

"Anno-well..." now that she thought about how was her family taking all of this? Hopefully they were okay right now... "Both my parents are out of the country" Akemi spoke "but my older sister should still be here"

"Where?" Komuro was the next to ask

"At her university" Akemi replied timidly glancing out the window again in the direction she knew her sister university was in "but we live on the other side of the river"

"That's where most of us live" Harou piped up

"We should find our families and find someplace to stay for a while" Busujima suggested standing up from her seat "but whatever we decide to do we need a plan"

"Right, everyone needs to team up. We head straight for the bus and get the hell out of here" Komuro nodded his head reaching for one of the two bats they had as Harou grabbed the other. Everyone armed themselves with their weapon of choice, all of course but Takagi and Marikawa who held ammo for Hirano and medical necessities, and paired up.

Akemi positioned herself right behind Busujima like a lieutenant would stand behind their captain and they all got ready to leave the faculty office.

"Let's try to rescue any survivors along the way" Busujima declared getting a sharp nod from Akemi.

"What do you think will be the best way out here?" Miyamoto asked

"Sorry to break it to you, stupid, but it looks like we're going out the front door" Takagi replied flatly. So the group, more or less, had their plan all set up and with that Komuro threw the door open and they charged out the door as fast as they could.

Hirano shot down the couple of 'them' that were in the immediate area with his makeshift staple gun and when they were down Akemi took off. Luckily for the first year, her size certainly worked in her favor. She was small, petite even, and because of that she had speed on her side even if 'they' weren't too fast to begin with. With Komuro close at her back Akemi took the lead swinging. Her bokken swung down cracking the skull of the unfortunate young girl who stood in her way in a splat of blood. As 'they' fell Akemi jumped back preparing herself falling into fighting stance easily.

"This way" She nodded her head in the direction she just cleared. The others sped past her and while they continued on she took up the back of their group making sure no one was attacked from behind. Unfortunately the Staff room wasn't on the ground floor of the school or even close to the front door for that matter so there was going to be quite a bit of traveling when it came to escaping. "How can so many students end up like this in a matter of hours?" the first year shuddered slightly when they stopped for a short break. She gripped the rail and gazed down the stairs at the lower landing that looked to be crawling with 'them' as did the others.

"There's so many of 'them'" Ruka whimpered lowering her hockey stick so that she could draw close to Harou, her newly found boyfriend welcomed her with an open arm drawing her closer to him in order to comfort her.

"Let me make one thing clear" Busujima lowered her weapon and approached the rail resting a hand on it as well and gazing down at 'them' "You don't need to get into a fight unless you have absolutely no choice but to. If not then do whatever you can to avoid it"

"We don't have to actually kill 'them'" Harou added in glancing at the others who nodded in understanding "'They' lack regular motor skills so tripping 'them' and knocking 'them' over works just as good as killing 'them'"

"So we should save our energy and just knock them over?" Komuro questioned Harou nodded his head.

"'they're' sensitive to sound so keep it quiet" Takagi finished up crossing her arms as she did "and 'they're' strong enough to rip through doors so if 'they' get a hold of you 'they're' going to rip you apart, be careful" The others nodded.

"Right" Akemi spoke next raising her bokken and glancing back at the rest of the group, some of them blinked in surprise while Ruka and Harou gained weary looks. Those green eyes of her had shrank into that satanic demon look of hers again and even after seeing again it still left her close friends unnerved to see it return "let's go" the first years voice brought them back to reality and she turned sharply with a wave of her red hair.

Just as Takagi had instructed them, the group descended the steps with caution and great care to how much sound they made as they moved. If one of 'them' drew too close the nearest person with a weapon would either kill 'them' or trip 'them' like Busujima had suggested. To make a long story short they were doing alright now that they were in a group and had a basic plan. By the time they had gotten close to the entrance of the school a piercing scream ripped through the air and though it was not as shrill as Takagi's had been when she had screamed earlier in the day it was still dripping with distress and a great desire for help.

"That sounded close by" Miyamoto stated from where she was farther down the steps

"That way!" Komuro turned in the general direction that the scream had come from before taking off in that direction "let's go!"

"Right" Akemi was right behind him

"Okamoto, Ikeda stay here and protect Mirakawa-sensei" Busujima order before she hurried after Akemi. Soon they came upon some sit steps and found the source of the scream. It had been a girl and she stood with a few other students on the landing between floors surrounded by 'them' only a few of them had weapons to fend 'them' off but judging by the numbers and the sheer terror in the student's eyes they wouldn't last very long. "We're too high up" Busujima commented watching Komuro take to the nearest steps to the group "if we take the steps we won't make it in time.

"Miyamoto-senpai is coming from below" Akemi stated but she might not get to them in time either. Akemi paused for a moment staring at the group from the distance between them and her. It wasn't that much of a drop but to cover the space between where they stood and the group did would take someone both fearless and athletically set enough to do it. Akemi looked to her captain, Busujima looked to have already come to the conclusion she had for she had backed up a pace or so and without a word to Akemi she took off jumping up and pushing against the rail.

The third year student easily propelled herself into the air and across the distance. She didn't make it exactly where they stood but she definitely made a close enough landing to cover the rest of the distance on foot in time. Akemi watched from her place as Busujima's feet collided with the back of one of 'their' heads and send it crashing into the rest of 'them' standing at the steps and tumbling down them with loud cracks of 'their' heads against the stone structure. Komuro was just getting there when Busujima covered the remaining distance and killed two of 'them' that were about to attack the group of frighten students. Suddenly something whizzed past Akemi's face too fast for her to see what it was but less than a second after it shot past her there was a thud of a body falling beside her. She looked and jumped back with shock when she saw that what had fallen was one of 'them' and 'they' now lay on the ground with a nail in 'their' head.

"Hirano-senpai" Akemi glanced behind her and sure enough the glasses wearing second year stood not too far from her with his makeshift gun at the ready. He gave her a brief wave a wide, sadistic grin spreading across his face.

"Come on, let's cover for them while they get those guys out of there" Hirano turned aiming his gun in the direction Busujima and Komuro had gone in. Akemi nodded though the second year didn't see it, she gripped her weapon tightly and hurried down the stairs as fast as she could go. There were so many of 'them' cluttering the steps that it was almost impossible to get down them without confrontation but Hirano was skilled with his weapon of choice and when Akemi was too busy to notice one of 'them' getting too close for comfort he took 'them' out with the pull of a trigger.

"Up this way" Akemi called to her seniors before whipping around and kicking one of 'them' in the chest sending 'them' flipping off the side of the steps and down to 'their' permanent death. No one needed to be told twice for as soon as they saw that a path had been cleared to possible safety the rescued student hurried up the steps and the rest quickly followed "Are any of them bitten?" Akemi questioned Komuro who was the last to pass her on the way back up the stairs; he stopped his ascent and shook his head.

"They're fine" he answered "what about you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Akemi nodded her head, she turned her head up seeing Hirano still in battle ready stance where he had been when she left him there "I have the best backup a girl could ever ask for" she smirked slightly and Komuro chuckled in response.

"I think he's having too much fun with all of this" the second year said taking note in the large grin that seemed to be glued to Hirano's face and wasn't hard to miss even from where they stood.

"Probably" Akemi nodded her head taking n a deep breath and sighing out relaxing her muscle as she did. This brief moment of calm, even amongst all this death and gore, was a welcomed one for the first year. She may be a demon now but even demons needed a break "but perhaps that's how he's dealing with all of this" she brushed past Komuro and began climbing the steps careful not to make any more noise than was needed the second year watched her go before opening his mouth to speak.

"And what about you?"

"Hm?" Akemi paused looked back at the boy curiously, what did he mean what about her.

"How are you dealing with all of this?" Komuro questioned turning to face her fully. Akemi was after all the youngest in their group of survivors, or whatever you wanted to call it, barely sixteen if he had to make a guess on her age based on her slightly smaller than average size this couldn't be very easy for someone that young to deal with especially since so much had happen so suddenly. "…is it hard?" Komuro questioned, there was a long pause between his question and Akemi's reaction. Red bang fell down before her eyes so he couldn't see her eyes and thus read her expression perfectly but after a second she raised her head and those frightening, demonic, green orbs of hers met his.

"It's not hard" the young girl answered simply "you just take it one step at a time that's all" she turned away from him aiming to continue climbing the steps again "as for how I deal with it…that's easy" Her voice was darker all of a sudden compared to the light innocent voice Komuro remembered her owning when they talked in the staff room "I don't" she answered and with that she was climbing the steps again leaving Komuro standing at the landing by himself before he too followed her.

_Most human beings don't handle change very well. Being creatures of habit, beings who find comfort in some sort of order, we often show signs of annoyance and agitation when presented with something too dramatically different from what we know as normal and functioning. This fact has been proven enough times in history, wars have raged between countries because of it and people have died because of it and really it's a sad thing to be so upset about._

_Change is always happening around us: the days, the seasons, the weather, nothing goes without becoming different from what it once was especially not people. Change is a natural thing and whether we like it or not it's going to happen._

_Like changing from a human to a demon._

_Undergoing a change like that, for me, was a lot more to deal with than the end of a once dull life and that's why I found it so easy to say that I don't deal with this at all. Since I, now, have greater things to handle._

* * *

><p>The group of students they rescued had turned out to be the group of students that had once been with Sasaki-sensei before his untimely demise. From what Akemi could see their numbers had dropped sufficiently since they'd parted ways with the teacher. Now there were only four or five of them when there had been at least nine before, clearly they hadn't made it this far without a few casualties but they appeared more than grateful to have been save and now with other survivors. They willingly took part in the stressful task that was getting to the school entrance. At the moment they all stood collectively by the very last steps they would have to take to get to the front doors. The only thing that was standing in their way was an entrance way full of 'them', really it was a wonder they hadn't been spotted and attacked yet.<p>

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Harou questioned looking around the group for any sign of an answer before his eyes found Komuro who, whether he noticed it or not, had taken up leadership of their group of survivors so far.

"There's no point in hiding at this point" Takagi voiced from where she sat on the steps observing the mass of creatures that were once students "It's not like 'they' can see us"

"Really?" mused Komuro cocking his head to the side to look at his fellow classmate and old friend "You wanna test that theory?" and of course Takagi made no reply that she did nor did she look to be making any moves to prove herself right any time soon.

"We have to do something" Busujima remarked "'they're' blocking our only way out"

"We could go out another way" Marikawa mused hopefully

"Of course" Ruka piped in, though sarcasm dripped freely from her words she added in a roll of her eyes for effect "and spend the rest of the night fighting our way through the school again- Oh but let's not forget that we'll have to fight our way around the grounds to get back to the front of the school and to the bus"

"We have no choice" Akemi interrupted the group's conversation before it could break into an argument. Heads turned in her directions as she pushing herself up and now stood beside Komuro on the very last landing before the last set of steps "even if its swinging we have to get out of that door. It's the quickest route"

"That doesn't make it the safest" Harou grumbled under his breath.

"But we still have to test Takagi's theory" Komuro reminded Akemi "someone has to go down there and see if it's true" of course he was right, if Takagi's theory was right, if 'they' truly were blind, then they wouldn't have to fight 'them' all. If anything they could sneak past 'them' with ease so long as they didn't make a sound. Still no one appeared to have the guts to be the first to offer their life for such a hopeful theory and so as a result a long silence enveloped the group as each and every one of them waited for someone to offer their life for the sake of either proving Takagi right or proving her wrong. Not even Ruka who, earlier that day, had mentioned that 'they' might be blind would offer her safety over. For all she knew she could have just been lucky when she had escaped the gym with her life. When no one spoke for three long minutes Komuro sighed out shaking his head "Alright" he nodded slightly "I'll go"

"No wait Takashi" Miyamoto was quick to try and stop him but Busujima stepped in before she could say anymore.

"Let him do it" she mused to the girl as they watched Komuro slowly begin to climb down the steps "I understand how you feel but this is something he has to do"

"I'll cover for you" Akemi spoke lowly to him as he breezed past her "if this theory is wrong, I have your back" she gripped her weapon tightly sore muscle tense and ready to spring her into action when needed. Komuro nodded and being as quiet as he could be began walking down the steps.

Everyone held their breaths in that moment when they watched the second year ease himself off the last step and slowly walked until he stood in the middle of the entrance way. They all expected the worse to happen, for 'them' to suddenly veer 'their' heads in Komuro's direction and lunge at him in the goriest of attacks one would ever have the misfortune of witnessing. For a long, almost strangling, silence everyone was still as stone itself their waiting for what they thought of inevitable but then there was….nothing…absolutely nothing. Akemi tried to keep from breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that none of 'them' attacked Komuro or even showed signs that they knew he was there. One of 'them' even breezed past the second year boy without so much as a twitch of hostility.

Takagi's theory was right, they were in fact blind.

Knowing for sure that this was a proven fact eased the tension in the large group of survivors and a similar feeling overtook all of them. At least they had this, they thought, at least they could live longer because of this however short 'longer' might turn out to be for them. Carefully Komuro bent down and picked up a stray sneaker, he tossed it far away from him where it slammed loudly against a wall. Like a dinner bell 'they' all raised 'their' heads with sudden alertness turning 'their' attention in the direction of the sound. Moaning and groaning the whole way 'they' slowly but sure dragged 'their' broken limbs and decaying bodies in that direction clearing the entrance way and giving the students and nurse an opening to escape.

"Come on" Komuro spoke softly to the others motioning for the door "try to keep quiet" Busujima quietly bounded down the steps following Komuro to the large double door of the schools entrance and carefully the two of them pushed the doors pen allowing everyone else to exist out of the school without making any noise. Akemi slowed to a stop in the entrance just before she was about to step outside and nodded her head gratefully to the upperclassman.

"Good job" she whispered gently to him.

That was when the sound came.

To any one largely familiar with the music world the sound was actually very pleasant. It sounded like the ring of a triangle one would use in a band and if this were any other situation where the lives of all those around wasn't hanging by a thin thread one would stop and enjoy this ring. However in that instant, in that fleeting moment of relief it was horrid sound. It wasn't a ring but a bang a loud, horrendous bang that echoed through the tranquil silence that secured the groups safety with such intensity Akemi could have sworn she felt it rumble through her being as a whole. She took in a sharp breath whipping around to search for the source of the sudden disturbance. The culprit was one of their newly found survivors who had stiffened up when he realized that it was the pole he was clinging so tightly to that had cause such an awful sound. Again silence fell on them but only briefly because immediately after the air echoed with such feral noise Akemi for a second thought they had woken a monstrous beast from its slumber instead of alerting hordes of 'them' to their location. In all honesty the beast sounded a hell of a lot more appealing than having to face a whole school full of 'them' but there was no time to hang on this slightly amusing thought.

They were coming.

"_**Run**_!" Komuro yelled out as loudly as he could, abandoning their previous plan to remain as quit as they could be and the frenzy was unleashed on them. There was no wasting time now, they had to book it.

"Why the hell did you yell for!" screeched Takagi as everyone else began to run "we could have just taken care of the ones in the immediate area and been fine!"

"It doesn't matter!" Miyamoto snapped loudly "the sound would have echoed anyway and we'd still be in this situation" the trio was so busy in their argument they didn't notice one of 'them' coming up on them until Akemi suddenly rushed them and swung her bokken in an upward motion. The edge of the wooden sword connected with its chin and sent the once student's head back with such force the four living students around heard 'their' neck snap just before it was sent flipping backwards and to the ground. Stunned looks went Akemi's way but she only met them with a fierce look of her own.

"Why don't you all stop your bitching and get moving" she snarled out "You're no use to anyone if you can't get to the damn bus"

"There's too many of 'them'" Hirano squeaked out from where he stood not far from them. Though he was obviously focused on where he was shooting it wasn't hard to miss his nerves shaking in his tone "I don't think I have enough ammo to get 'them' all"

"Don't waste it" Komuro spoke up finally "just take down any in your way and get to the bus!" he yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. Akemi didn't have to be told twice, she took off in a charge of yells and wild swinging smacking any of 'them' that stood in her way hard enough to either knock 'them' off 'their' feet or cave 'their' faces in from the point of contact.

"Akemi!" Ruka's voice suddenly yelped from behind her while she was busy a couple of minutes later "look out behind you!" the red head first year didn't have time to look behind her to see what her friend was talking about but Harou could from his place in front of her and judging by the look on his face it didn't look good.

"Tag!" he yelled loudly positioning himself like he was at bat during a game. Akemi took the hint immediately and her knees buckled under her just as he swung. The wind whistle with the might of Harou's swing it connected with the jaw of the one that had been in the middle of a lunge that was meant for Akemi. The first year looked back in time to see the metal bat do great damage ringing with the loud crack of 'their' jaw breaking and a great shower of blood and teeth.

"Tag!" Akemi announced spinning round the best she could her bokken connecting with 'their' gut and sending 'them' stumbling uncontrollably back in Ruka's direction.

"Tag!" the green haired girl seemed to prickle up with the thought that she would now have her turn to get in a swing. She raised her hockey stick high over her head and swung down with such force that 'their' skull could not battle it and split open in a glorious spray of blood no other human being other than roman gladiators had ever before had the honor of unleashing. Ruka stumbled back from her kill as 'they' dropped to the ground never to rise again; she was panting wildly as she stared down at 'them' as did Akemi and Harou. That had been a close one; if Ruka hadn't seen that coming Akemi would have been a goner: killed by 'them' or by her comrades later on when she began to turn. "Whoa!" Ruka whooped after a moment of catching her breath while Akemi pushed herself to a standing position again and calmed her rapid heartbeat "What a rush! That was amazing!" her blue eyes beamed at her two friends and she grinned wickedly "We make a great team you guys"

"…" Akemi and Harou exchanged bewildered looks before the red head rolled her eyes "…right" she hummed shaking her head at her older friends suddenly energy towards killing 'them' "let's just get to the bus, the others are far ahead" she broke into a jog hurrying to catch up with everyone else with Ruka and Harou close behind her.

When they caught up with the others Ruka and Harou had taken their former job of guarding Marikawa as they neared the bus they aimed to take. The blond threw the door to the bus open and quickly climbed in with the others getting in after her. A few of them settled in eats while the nurse took the driver's seat now the only people outside of the bus were Komuro, Busujima and Akemi and they stood guarding the door holding 'them' off so everyone could get on safely while Hirano became trigger happy from one of the windows.

"Everyone's in the bus" Akemi confirmed from her place noting that there were only three of them standing out there now.

"Hurry and get on" Busujima spoke directing this to Komuro who shook his head

"Ladies first" he motioned to both Busujima and Akemi.

"Ah!" Marikawa yelled from the bus "this is all wrong…this is nothing like my little car…erm lets see that's the gas and the break…err and I think that's the clutch…"

"_Please_ tell me we're _not_ letting her drive" Ruka remarked from her spot watching the nurse fumble around with the, apparently, unfamiliar controls of the bus. It was bad enough they were in a rush, if Marikawa didn't know how to drive the damn bus she could crash it and kill them all and what the hell would that accomplish? But they'd have to let her drive, she was the only one with a license for more than a year and even though at this point having one probably didn't matter, because no cop was going to waste their time pulling people over for speeding, no one wanted to die because no one knew how to properly drive. It took her a few minutes but soon Marikawa had everything figured out and the car roared to life.

"A-alright!" she stammered out "We're all set!"

"Takashi, get in!" Miyamoto order the remaining student of their group to still be standing outside "We're ready to go!"

"Hold on just a second, someone's coming" Komuro announced and from her place Akemi slid the nearest window open and stuck her head out to see just what the upperclassman was looking at. He was right, there were people running in their direction and a good deal of them. Students from what Akemi could see and perhaps one teacher judging by their height compared to the others.

"Senpai" Akemi's cool voice got the boys attention as he stood in the door of the bus, he look up at her "we can't wait too long, 'they're' swarming in front of the bus"

"Can't we just run them over?" Komuro questioned

"If we tried that with this many we'll flip the bus" Takagi voiced calmly with her arms cross where she sat.

So then what could they do?

If they stay then they risked flipping the bus trying to escape and potentially crippling their only means of escape however if they left now with the few people they could save then these people, those students… It was tough call.

"…" Miyamoto stood a row behind Akemi looking out the window at the group as well. An odd look over came her and suddenly her expression grew cold "leave them" she barked out.

"What?" Marikawa looked over her shoulder at the girl from the driver's seat "leave them?"

"Rei what the hell are you saying?" Komuro's eyes were as wide as everyone else's at the second year's declaration to leave those people to fend for themselves against this horde. A horde that they had unintentionally alerted but she didn't seem to care about the looks directed at her, instead she stood strong in with her stony glare.

"We don't have to save that guy" she defended herself, that guy? "Someone like _that_ is better off dead" Someone? The two bickered on while everyone else stared at them. Akemi stared as well but her mind wasn't on what they were saying, Miyamoto hadn't said 'them' or 'people' referring to the whole group, no she said… a look of realization came to the first years face and with it a new found rage.

"Are you saying that we should just let that _whole group_ die because you don't like someone among them?" Akemi voiced, it was a shrill screech of a sound that surprised even her. She stood tall despite being very small for her age, her already pinpoint demon eyes grew even smaller with her new found foul expression as she stared at her senpai with both shock and disgust. Miyamoto didn't offer any explanation or defense against the accusation so it must have been true, she just wanted someone in that group to die and she didn't care about the rest of them "Don't be a selfish bitch" Akemi snarled her fierce look never lessening even as Miyamoto directed a glare her way "that's _not_ how this is going to work! We _don't_ do that here!"

"Akemi" Harou sat up straight when the young girl pushed away from the window and raced to the front of the bus "Akemi what are you doing? Sit down!" but she did no such thing, in fact she acted as though her former boyfriend hadn't spoke to her. She slowed her pace when she stood before Komuro in the doorway.

"Sato-chan…" even Komuro had to admit being the target of this girls stares when she was like this was a bit unnerving, one couldn't guess what she would say or do when her face held this satanic expression. For a second Komuro thought that she might bite his head off but her intense gaze softened just a bit instead.

"I'll keep 'them' from crowding the front of the bus" she informed him "get those people on this bus as soon as you can" and with that she brushed past him.

"U-uh…right" Komuro blinked watching her as she passed but only managing to see a quick flash of her red hair as she hopped off the bus and whipped around to the front of it.

There were a lot of 'them' in front of the bus just as she had said before and as Akemi stood before 'them' with her bokken gripped tightly in her hands she could feel her skin beginning to prickle from the nap of her neck all the way down her spin. Slowly, she approached 'them' the corners of her lips twitching slightly before curving upward into a wide grin. It was go time. There was a moment's pause in the area before the first one charged, the switch flipped for Akemi and she swung striking 'them' down with no problem at all. The rest of the time she had spent in front of the bus became a complete blur for her. In her sudden anger towards Miyamoto Akemi was swallowed whole by a deep driven need to cause destruction and she directed all this towards 'them'. It passed her eyes in flashes of blood and the sound of bones breaking followed by the sight of 'their' bodies being sent tumbling away and out of the way of the bus path of escape. With each crack and break, with every splatter of blood across her uniform Akemi felt herself shudder slightly, she truly was enjoying herself when it came to killing 'them'

Being able to put everything into taking another's life without fear of the consequence and causing pain and, of course, spilling blood. Yes, all of that blood as red as Akemi's hair. It was everywhere! On the ground and splattered across the front of the bus and practically painted her red. She was so utterly taken by her fighting she hadn't noticed that those students and their teacher had gotten on the bus. Suddenly a hand dropped onto her shoulder and she snapped around.

Komuro veered back holding his hands up as a sign of surrender as the bloody weapon nearing collided with his neck.

"Relax" he remarked "it's just me" Akemi immediately eased up lowering her bokken from the third years neck "Come on" he nodded her head toward the bus "Everyone's in"

"…right" Akemi nodded and quickly the two of them climbed into the bus. Once Komuro had let Akemi climb in and he was inside as well he slid the door shut behind him and they were off. With a few thumps of bodies being run over and the loud _CRASH!_ the bus burst forth from the school's gates and went barreling down the street escaping the school and the horrors that had taken it over. It didn't matter how old they were or their grade level, whether they were the strongest, the tallest or whatever. No matter who it was everyone breathed out a sigh of relief when the School was nothing but a scene in the distance behind them.

For now they were safe.

"I can't believe we did it" Harou breathed out yet another loud sigh of relief relaxing his body completely, beside him Ruka nodded her head in agreement.

"Yea…" she agreed slouching in her seat and letting her eyes close. Her adrenaline rush had reached its peak and was now leaving her tired and sore.

"And it's a good thing we did" this voice was unfamiliar to Akemi and though she'd spent most of the day running around with she gazed up as someone approached the row where she and Busujima were seated and a shadow loomed over them. "I would assume you are appointed leader?" this was now the only other adult in the bus other than Marikawa, he was a male teacher for the second years and though Akemi didn't know him personally nor did she know his name she didn't like the way his eye looked her over before finding Busujima who the question was directed to. The Captain was busy cleaning blood off her bokken but when the teacher loomed over her she looked up as well.

"No" she replied "we have no leader, we just work together in order to live…that's all"

"That's not good" Akemi curved a brow at this comment and she wasn't the only one who offered the teacher a curious look "In order to survive we definitely need a leader who bares everything with valor and confidence"

A snake like grin spread across the males face and though Busujima didn't give any response to his words and he left the two of them to themselves the first year grimaced. In that moment she was starting to see just why Miyamoto wanted to leave him to die and she couldn't help but feel that way as well just a bit. He was cunning, that much was obvious by the way he spoke and the tone of his voice, and there was just an air about him that made Akemi believe that in the long run having him around wasn't going to do them any good.

"You'll regret it" Miyamoto's found reached Akemi's ears from the seat in front of hers, she must have been talking to Komuro because she didn't know Akemi was sitting behind her "I swear you'll regret helping him"

* * *

><p>"It's like I said! It's only dangerous if we keep going!" At this comment Akemi tried her very best to keep in a groan crossing her arms tightly across her chest as her agitation towards the stubbornness of this conversation that had been going on for the past half hour of driving. The young man, a second year named Tsunoda Akemi thinks, who was speaking now had been the most out spoken when it came to not liking the idea of leaving the school and he was starting to get on her nerves "First of all, why do we have to go along with Komuro and the others? <em>You're<em> the ones who decided to go back into the city! We would have been better off staying the school!"

"And that's why you were running to this bus as fast as your legs could take you back at the school right?" Akemi glanced back at the boy with an eyebrow curved up as high as it could go. Tsunoda didn't respond to the remark but instead settled for glaring at the girl but she glared right back and that left him looking unsettled "Face it Senpai, staying in the school was too dangerous for anyone. We have a better chance at survival if we head into the city"

"No he's right!" from behind Tsunoda another older student piped up "I agree with Tsunoda! We should go back to the school and barricade ourselves inside a classroom!"

"That's not going to help anything" Harou stood up now his nerves, which had been dangling helplessly by a thread since this argument had started, seem to have finally had enough and he too rose from his seat turning to Tsunoda and the boy who agreed with him "I don't know if you saw what we did back there but 'they're' strong! There's no point in trying to block ourselves in a room 'They'll' just break the door down!"

"And what the hell do you know Ikeda!" Tsunoda snarled out

"He's right!" Ruka was standing now "You stupid tactic is a suicide mission, we've already tried to barricade ourselves inside a classroom 'They' just broke through the door like it was nothing!"

"Maybe you just didn't barricade it enough!" Tsunoda protest

"If you want to go back to the school and try and test your theory then go ahead but your dumbass is walking back!" Ruka snarled out her blue eyes shimmering with a deep glare "Good luck!"

"Listen, you stuck up bitch-" Tsunoda would have went on but with a loud screech of tires the bus suddenly stopped making those who weren't seated or expecting the action to be jerked forward with such force that if they didn't brace themselves in time they were taken off their feet. Some of the student that had been standing up in the back were either groaning from their spots in the aisle our sprawled across one of the rows of seats.

"Alright that's enough!" Marikawa turned from the driver's seat and sent all behind her a sharp glare but considering she was who she was it was hardly an intimidating one. "I can't focus on driving with all of this yelling!" she announced

"…" Weary looks and grimaces were the first response received in response to this declaration but after a moment or so Tsunoda simply sent his glare out one of the windows muttering a 'yea whatever' under his breath as he did.

"Alright…" Busujima comment from her seat beside Akemi through the whole exchange she had sat calm and collective not at all bothered by the yelling or fighting. Her eyes locked onto Tsunoda and there wasn't a single sign of fear in her eyes "If you don't like the idea of going back to the city how about you tell us what _you_ want to do"

"…" Tsunoda grunted obviously at a loss for words especially with everyone's expectant eyes now on him "I just can't stand this guy! I hate him!" he pointed his finger and the person at the other end of it was Komuro. Akemi tensed up feeling her muscles tense up at the thought of one of her new found allies being threaten by such an idiot but without looking away from Tsunoda Busujima placed a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into her seat. Akemi understood the gesture, this wasn't her fight.

"What did I ever do to you?" questioned Komuro "I don't even know you"

"You know damn well!" Tsunoda snarled, using the sides of the seats he had been gripping to push him forward the older boy charged down the aisle towards Komuro in an effort to hit him. What he didn't expect was that the person seated between the two of them would do anything about his actions but she did and she was brutal. Without even flinching Miyamoto sprung up from her seat and the pole she had as her weapon of choice was introduced to Tsunoda's stomach with what Akemi felt was a more than pleasing amount of force. Tsunoda stumbled back and dropped to the floor gripping him gut, coughing and gasping for the air he had just lost.

"Asshole" Miyamoto declared when the deed was done.

"Bravo" there was clapping from someone in the back, Akemi craned her neck a bit to look and sighed out just a bit, it was the teacher who'd spoke of them needing a leader to survive. He was walking down the aisle towards Miyamoto and Komuro stepping over Tsunoda as he did "Such teamwork, I commend both of you…at any rate a conflict like this only proves my point: we need a leader, we do. And surely…" he drew in close to Miyamoto and the second year sent him a hard glare "neither of you want such a difficult responsibility on your shoulders"

"So let me guess, _you're_ going to run for the position" Takagi wasn't asking this, she stated it and with such sarcasm it was almost laughable.

"I'm a teacher Takagi-san" he spoke smoothly glancing down at the moody pink-haired girl "And all of you, while mature, are just barely in your teens. That alone makes it very obvious who should assume such a role. _I_" he motioned to himself "have experience! Just moments ago I save all these _brave_ students….what do you say guys? The response was immediate, like a conman can convince a healthy person that they're sick he succeeded in getting the student to not only agree with him but stand up and applaud him, how appalling "Well" he grinned at the rest who made no motions to agree with the teacher "I believe it's been decided, the majority has seem to have made the choice quick clear yes?"

"This is going to be a long day" Akemi grumbled, by now she had stood up as well and was leaning against the window with her arms crossed.

"Rei!" the front door of the bus suddenly flew open and Miyamoto threw herself from the bus landing gracefully on the abandoned street outside the bus she ignored Komuro's calls and continued on her way.

"No way! I won't do it!" she turned around to glare at Komuro "I refuse to stay here with _him_!"

"Get back on the bus Rei"

"Well there's nothing _I_ can do about it if you don't want to act in accordance with all of us"

"Some leader this guy is" Harou grumbled from his spot. Ruka hurried behind Komuro leaning out the bus as the boy ran after the retreating Miyamoto.

"Miyamoto-chan! Miyamoto-chan please get back on the bus" she called out but the girl kept on walking until Komuro caught up with her and stopped her a few feet away from the bus, she sighed from her place still casting the pair a worried look.

"Don't worry Okamoto-chan" Ruka glanced up at the teacher as he watched her with the sly grin of his on his face "Miyamoto will come to her sense when she realizes that being here with us is safer than-" Akemi shot out of her seat interrupting the adult speech and stared out her window with wide, alert, eyes.

"Bus, Bus, Bus, Bus, BUS!" she pointed from behind her Busujima fixed her eyes on what Akemi was trying to point out. Bright headlights could be seen in the distance and they grew brighter and brighter as they fast approached.

"Okay you need to _punch it_" the kendo captain announced to Marikawa when she was able to see what was gunning towards them with deadly speed. Though taken by surprise the nurse did stomp on the gas, Ruka yelped nearly tumbling out of the bus as it shot forward just narrowing missing a terrible crash. Akemi poked her head out of her window craning her neck to watch in awe as a bus, much like theirs, came speeding out of control crashing into a parked car. Instead of stopping when it crashed the bus went back over front flipping completely. The ground shook with the force of the crash that followed and when Akemi glanced back at the now flaming bus Komuro and Miyamoto were gone. "Oh no" Busujima muttered at the sight while the red head hurried out of the bus as fast as she could.

"Senpai!" the young girl landed on the pavement clumsily nearly falling to the ground as she ran towards the wreckage going as near as the flames would allow her "Are you guys alright?"

"Sato-chan" Akemi's captain was beside her moments later her arm stretched out pushing the younger girl back. That was when Akemi noticed that 'They' were emerging from the fiery wreck 'they' had caused. Now that was a sight, an undead person was a fear one might be able to overcome with time but an undead person on fire was a completely different sight on its own. Akemi curse taking a step back as they drew closer and she realized she left her bokken on the bus when she rushed off.

"The police station!"

"What?" the familiar voice drew the pair's eyes to a corner among the crash. Just beyond the flames that threatened to engulf the area Komuro's face could be made out. Though Busujima offered a curious glance Akemi breathed a slight sigh of relief knowing that the upperclassman was alright.

"Meet us at the east police station!" Komuro yelled out to them

"What time?"

"Seven O'clock" Komuro answered "If not today then tomorrow at the same time!"

"Teicho…" Akemi tugged at Busujima's sleeve drawing the girl attention back to 'them' as 'they' drew closer. The captain readied her weapon to defend them both as the Bus caved into itself loudly blocking Komuro from view. They now knew where their first destination would be now it was a matter of getting themselves there in one piece. Just as 'they' were close enough to strike down suddenly 'they' stopped walking and simply dropped to the feet of the stunned pair. "….fire" Akemi stated gazing hard at the burning corpse "That's it…fire" captain and subordinate exchanged looks "Fire can stop them!"

"Come on" Busujima turned around sharply and pulled Akemi with her back to the bus "looks like we're not taking this freeway anymore" Busujima closed the bus door behind her.

"Alright" Marikawa confirmed "I'll turn the bus around and find some other way"

"Akemi" Harou's green eyes locked with the first years briefly as she pasted him and settled into her previous seat even at the third year offered her a concerned stare Akemi settled for sticking her head out the window gazing back at the flames that were just beginning to fade into the distance "Are you alright?"

"…" Akemi didn't respond let alone acknowledge that she had been spoken to.

* * *

><p><em>Throughout man's history and literature we have stated again and again the anguish of losing everything, that no one before that person could truly understand such a loss. I don't believe anyone could truly understand loss like any of us did that day.<em>

_The world had ended, not just our little world here in Japan but earth as a whole._

…_My once normal life, my friends, the boyfriend I once thought had eyes only for me…I lost everything today…we all did._

When she could no longer see the glow of the fire Akemi finally retreated into her seat settling fully into her seat. Now all they needed to do was get across the bridge and met up with Komuro and Miyamoto at the east police station, with the diverse skill spread through the group that wouldn't be too hard- A sudden buzz in Akemi's pocket broke her train of thought and the redhead found herself fumbling for phone. It was a school rule that students were not allowed to bring their phones into the classroom, the devices served as more of a distraction than assistance to those who carried them but like many students Akemi did not follow such rules. It didn't matter if she followed it or not because most phones lost signal once one was within three miles of the school. Still, Akemi did as her parents told her to and that was to carry her phone with her in case of emergency like the one she was in now. Finally pulling the phone out Akemi flipped it open with ease showing her that she had been sent a message sometime this morning and was only now receiving it now that was getting a signal again.

"…" emerald eyes scanned over the text message and the sight of it sent a hard tug to Akemi's heart "Dear Red, Hope this message reaches you before you get to school. Happy seventeenth birthday, I love you dearly. Lots of love, Scarlet" she read the message with a bit of strain in her voice, this was a text from her older sister.

_But not everything was lost that day and though all the worlds' evils were now upon us our story was just beginning._

That woman, she was always one to remember days like these even in her most important year at her university she managed to set time aside to remind Akemi that today had not only been her and Harou's anniversary but Akemi's seventeenth birthday.

_The tale of Pandora's Box did have an ending that one could look forward to perhaps just a little. In the end of the tale, when Pandora gazed into the box she had so foolishly opened, there was something left behind and so long as one has this one thing I believe things can change again but this time for good instead of evil._

"…Miaka" Akemi uttered her sisters name holding her phone close to her chest returning her gaze to the window and the scenery that whizzed by. That's right, Akemi couldn't begin wallowing and feeling upset now, she had to stay strong if she ever hope to see her sister, or any of her family for that matter, again.

_That one thing was hope._


	4. Dead Concepts, Dead realities

"_We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located. Please check the number and try your call again"_

"And that's why we should secure a safe place first, then make moves together rather than making moves of our own…"

"_We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located. Please check the number and try your call again"_

"Isn't that why you voted a leader?"

"_We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located. Please check the number and-"_

"Truly, we should wait until we're ready to move as a disciplined group to ensure the safety of our family members"

"_We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located-"_

"Going off all halfcocked will only lead to inevitable tragedy!"

"_We're sorry-"_

Ikeda Harou took in a deep breath stretching his stiff limbs in an effort to relax; there was no use in getting all worked up at the moment. The bus was stuck in what most would call the traffic jam from hell. Everyone was trying to get across the bridge whether it be by wheels or by foot and with so many people trying to get across the police were starting to direct them like traffic. The bus was stuck smack dab in the middle of all of this hellish traffic and the third year had been stuck in this bus since yesterday afternoon.

Honestly, he didn't know what drove him more insane: The ridiculous ranting's of their "Leader" Shidou-sensei, the fact that Ruka had moved to the back to listen to these ridiculous ranting's or-

"_We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located…"_

Slowly letting his arms drop back down to his lap Harou's turned his attention to the seat beside him. It was miracle she was actually letting him sit next to her after spending almost all of yesterday refusing to acknowledge him unless he bothered her enough but even now…

"_We're sorry-"_

With a hard jab of her thumb on the 'end call' button Akemi stopped the message from being repeated once again. She had been doing that ever since she woke up this morning, she just kept dialing the same number only to get the same response and hang up. Whoever she was trying to call must have their phone off.

_"We're sorry, the number-"_

If Harou had to guess Akemi was trying to get a hold of her older sister, Miaka, but obviously was having no luck. But still...

"_We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located. Please hang up and try your call again..."_

"Akemi" finally Harou spoke up unable to stand it. Gently, he placed a hand over Akemi's stopping the girl as she went to dial the number again "Don't worry Akemi, I'm sure Miaka-chan is alright" there was a silence between them and the only thing that could be heard was Shidou-San talking in the background. Akemi glanced up a Harou, lovely emerald eyes met his but then Akemi pulled her hands away and turned her gaze back to her phone.

_"We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach could not be located..."_

She brushed him off so easily it made Harou sigh. He deserved the cold shoulder and he knew it, this change in the first year...even though anyone could say it was because of the trauma of yesterday Harou had a feeling it had something to do with him as well.

He had been stupid to think that he had been doing her any good this way. Akemi wasn't like other girls, there were just things she could not handle and betrayal from him was one of them. He'd done the worst thing a guy could possible do: breakup with their girlfriend not only on their anniversary but on her birthday, and it didn't help that everything went straight to hell right after, all of this was too much for fragile Akemi to take. She snapped and the old her had burst into flames and something Harou could only describe as a monster had crawl out of those burning embers leaving nothing of the old, gentle Akemi behind aside from a pile of ash. Still despite it all Harou tracked back to the fear he had seen in the first years eyes yesterday in the staff room.

When all the chaos had slowed down enough for everyone to relax and he had stood alone with Akemi in that small bathroom he safe the true Akemi that lay behind the demon she was trying to be. Harou was sure of it, Akemi was scared-no- _terrified_ of herself, she knew just as well as he did that this wasn't her. She wasn't a fighter, she didn't cause pain and destruction and that fact that she suddenly had to and could without shuddering immediately after is what scared her.

"Things will go back to normal soon enough" Harou took in a deep breath and sighed as he sat back relieved when Akemi stopped trying to get an answer from an obviously dead line. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, she had stopped dialing and had settled for simply sitting quietly and staring at her phone. Whether she was actually listening or not was anyone's guess but Harou would try anyway "The government will find out what's causing all of this and stop it, it might take some time but everything will go back to normal Akemi" he tried to sound calm and casual as he could as he said this "We'll get somewhere safe and your sister will be there-"

"Don't be stupid" if was a soft voice that interrupted Harou and if he wasn't already use to it he might have missed it. The sharp slap of the comment silenced anything else the third year had to say about the situation and suddenly all he could find himself doing was sitting in silence and staring down at Akemi. She flipped her phone shut but continued to stare at it "Don't treat me like I'm stupid" she added coldly "This world…the place we woke up to yesterday is gone for good and no amount of pretending will change that."

"…" what could Harou possible reply to that comment, he knew it was true. It wasn't going be him waking up one day and finding all of this destruction gone as if it were just a terrible nightmare. He watched sullenly as Akemi glanced out the window at the people crossing the bridge by foot.

"I know full well that things will never be the same again" she commented calmly "We may not be like 'them' but we've been exposed, we've tainted our hands with the blood of people we've known for years. Say what you will but the things we've done in just one day don't just disappear" in her lap Akemi's hands clenched into fist so tight her already pale knuckles turned bone white "We can't bring back the people we killed and who knows if we can cure any of 'them'…for all we know our family is already one of 'them' by now"

"Don't say that" Harou jumped in with a sharpness he never thought he's use on Akemi of all people but Akemi didn't flinch like the old Akemi would have. She didn't cower away from his stern tone or shrink under the heat of his flaring temper. Instead Harou was stunned when the first year turned her head back around and looked him right in the eye with her big emerald eyes of hers. It was hard to look Akemi in the eyes now, they weren't like they had been at the school but they still burned with an intensity Harou had never recalled seeing from Akemi. Her stare was so intense it stunned him into silence once again. Akemi shifted in her seat so that she was facing Harou and leaned forward until their faces were just barely touching.

"Once that door is open you can't close it back" Akemi went on as if Harou hadn't just gotten angry with her "Nothing can perfectly be unseen, hoping this hell hole will go back to normal is an illusion now and thinking it will be a reality is an act that might cost you your life soon senpai" with that said Akemi drew away from Harou like a gentle breeze and stood up "so don't treat me like I'm stupid, you know just as well as I do there is no turning back and I've accepted that" he watched the girl as she brushed past him to move down the aisle of the bus towards the front where Busujima sat. She paused for a moment and gave Harou one last glance from over her shoulder "The soon you accept it the better off we'll all be in the end" and with that she walked away.

Still seated Harou watched his former girlfriend head to the front of the bus and sit amongst the girls that weren't glued to Shidou-sensei and sighed.

_Of course I knew there was no turning back. None of us had said it yet but we were all in this to survive, to come out the other end of this in one piece. In the heat of the moment we all forgot about trying to find a solution or how long it would be before things went back to normal or even if there was a normal for life to go back to and the second we escaped the school the reality had set in._

_This was our lives now: running from 'them,' looking for a place that would keep us alive, killing any of 'them' that got in our way…even if 'they' were once people we knew._

_The life we once called normal was over, but I already knew that._

_I knew it right from that moment…._

"_**Don't worry about it Harou" Ruka muttered lowly to him easing her grip on his uniform before pressing her palms flat on his chest "You and I were meant to be together like this" her words were cool and seductive just like her lips had been just seconds ago "Akemi won't mind I promise you…Ne, Akemi?"**_

"_**What?" when he had rounded on the girl in his arms and followed her stares he found Akemi standing at the steps. She flinched when he looked her way, she was always…flinching.**_

_I knew the minute I looked into her eyes that nothing would ever be the same again. I, single-handedly, changed that girl forever and for the worst. What followed was nothing compared to the look in her eyes when I had singlehandedly shattered her heart._

Harou stared out the window watching as the bus moved just barely above an inch before stopping once again. Akemi wasn't the only person that had a sibling missing somewhere in the city, his own little brother was somewhere out there and only god knows how he is right now. The little brat's probably pissed his pants by now if he isn't already one of 'them'… the mental image of his kid brother being one of 'them' was almost too much for Harou to take and he quickly closed his eyes and shook his head of the image.

One problem at a time.

He turned his gaze away from the window and returned it to the redhead whom had just left his side moments ago. Harou watched her with a feeling of obvious guilt as Akemi quietly exchanged words with Busujima while calmly whipping blood of her bokken, the very sight of such a small and fragile looking girl doing such a task made Harou shudder slightly.

_Fuck 'them', I knew it was the end the moment I look into those eyes._

As if sensing she was being watched Akemi paused in her conversation and looked Harou's way. Her emerald eyes had shrunk once again to the size of pinpoints and her face lost all expression. There it was, the monster that had taken over that fragile girl's body.

_On the day that everything ended…I had turned my girlfriend into a demon._

* * *

><p><strong>Act 4.<strong> Dead concepts, Dead realities

* * *

><p>"Take pride in the fact that we will not become forgotten like the rest of Fujimi high school! We were the ones who had the ingenuity to take a bus."<p>

"More like the common sense to run for one when you saw it leaving" from his new seat in the front of the bus, which he had moved to almost immediately after Shidou-sensei had tried to draw him to the back of the bus to listen to him, Harou grumbled under his breath. He sat with his arms crossed, his eyes closed and his head hung. While he could shut his eyes to such bullshit he couldn't shut his ears and for the past hour everyone on the bus, both reluctant and will, was subjected to Shidou-sensei's religious like preaching.

"Miyamoto-san and Komuro-kun did not fit in with the likes of us! Let's word together for our mutual survival! By working together we will triumph over this crisis"

"Look at him" Busujima commented from her seat across from Harou "he's acting like he's trying to get us to join a new religious sect"

"That's exactly what he's doing" Takagi replied never once sparing the teacher so much as a turn of her head "Father Shidou over there wants us to be his first disciples, just look at them listening to him" and Harou did. The students who Shidou-sensei had "Rescued" hung on his every word like he was some sort of motivational speaker talking about equality and world peace. Now Harou didn't care so much for the others drool over all this bullshit but he was concerned for Ruka.

Ruka sat right beside Shidou-sensei as he preached on. Though she didn't look like she was tripping over herself listening her eyes were fixed on nothing but the teacher. Harou tried not to growl in disgust when the adult leaned down and cupping Ruka's face in his hand seductively rubbed her chin, an all mighty red came appeared on Ruka's face from the bridge of her nose down her cheeks and she looked at Shidou-sensei as if he were Jesus Christ himself.

"With the road like this, it might be a good idea to just leave the bus behind" Busujima remarked in deep thought. "If we somehow crossed Onbetsu Bridge but…"

"But?" Harou arched a brow at the fellow third year.

"But we'd be going in the opposite direction that Higashi police station is in" Akemi spoke up and Busujima nodded her head humming her agreement to the statement. It might be safer to try the other bridge, if everyone was on this one the other bridge might be empty just waiting to be crossed but that meant retracing their steps and going back into that mess.

"Exactly" Busujima nodded her head "I promised Komuro-kun we'd meet him there…"

"You're really worried about Komuro at a time like this" Takagi eyed Busujima slyly "Aren't you worried about your family?"

"Of course I am but my father is my only family" Busujima explained coolly "He's overseas for a martial arts tournament"

"Now that you've reminded me" Marikawa joined the conversation turning away from the wheel she had been sitting at all of last night and today, there was no point in focusing on the road the cars hadn't made any progress in the past hour, "Where does everyone live?"

"On the other side of the bridge like Komuro" Takagi answered simply

"My family is gone right now so, um" Hirano spoke up bashfully "I'll go where ever you go, Takagi-san"

"My father's at the military base in Okinawa" Harou added "And my mother would be at our house on the other side of the bridge. My little brothers school is on the other side as well so chances are my mom's got him somewhere safe by now"

"What about you Sato-chan?" Marikawa turned her attention to the youngest of their group.

"Both my parents are overseas as well on company business" she answered softly glancing out the window to the left of her "The only person still in town is my sisters. Her university is on the other side of the bridge and we have an emergency plan" though whatever this plan was she didn't inform any of them what it was settling for staring blankly out the window "I'll try and find her once we've gotten everyone else's family somewhere safe"

"Huh? But aren't you worried about your sister Sato-chan?"

"…not really…" Akemi answered keeping her gaze outside "…Miaka is fully capable of taking care of herself." Her statement was an utter lie and Harou knew it, he had watched her try over and over again all morning to get a hold of her sister. It was true though, Miaka was well capable of taking care of herself just thinking of her name brought back the image of the young woman, well tone and built from years of athletics and a mind like none her age…yea… if anyone were to be able to survive Miaka was that person.

"So what are you guys planning on doing?" Marikawa brought the conversation back to task with a happy smile on her face "Whatever it is I want to come along"

"Are you sure Marikawa-sensei?" Harou couldn't help himself and arched a brow at the nurse "It might be safer for you to stay on the bus with everyone else"

"We'll I don't have any family and my relatives live far away" Marikawa answered "And besides…I always thought Shidou-sensei was kind of a douche bag" the comment earned smirks and snickers all around even from the stoic Akemi who's shoulders shook with her silent laughter.

"What's wrong everybody?" the sound of Shidou-sensei's voice ended the moment of merriment for all of them and only a few of them turned their heads to look at him as he faced them curiously "We're supposed to be working together"

"Sorry, Shidou-sensei, but we've got our own plans!" Takagi announced proudly, she rose from her seat and so did Busujima. With the two strong willed girls of their little group standing Akemi took the queue and stood up as well and so did Harou and Hirano. They were really going to do it; they were going to go back into that chaos. "This is no school trip; we're not obligated to associate with you anymore"

"…." A tense silence filled the bus as they waited for the teacher's response to Takagi's declaration of independence. It wasn't like he could really stop them if they wanted to leave, so in all honesty Harou just wanted to say "fuck you" get his girls, both Ruka _and_ Akemi, and get the hell out of there.

"I can see you've all decided" Shidou-sensei grinned in a manner that left Harou uneasy, he had something up his sleeve "_**Please**_, be my guest and do as you please Takagi-san. Japan is a free country, after all however…" the teacher pointed his finger in a harsh manner that made both victims at the end of it flinch "Marikawa-sensei, Sato-chan…you both must stay!"

"Wh-" now Harou was seeing red, over his dead body was he going to let Akemi stay in this bus with preacher Shidou-sensei "Like hell they will!"

"Ikeda" Busujima spoke standing between the adult and Harou as he slowly made his way toward them.

"We cannot afford to lose our nurse after all" Shidou-sensei explained himself coolly as he drew closer "losing you, Marikawa-sensei, would be huge blow to our group…" the group fell silent doing nothing but growing very still under his presence, Shidou-sensei took time to look at all the faces that stood against him and his new order stopping when his eyes finally landed on their target. "And you Sato-chan" Akemi flinched away from the teacher as he drew in to touch her much like he did the other female students in the back of the bus from his place Harou snarled gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into tight fist. Don't touch her with your tainted hands…..don't touch her! "you're the youngest of our flock, surely you'd feel safer staying here on the bus" Akemi's eyes narrowed into cat like slits at the very idea of feeling safe with the teacher but Shidou-sensei didn't appear to notice the glare she was fixing him with and even if he did he didn't give any sign that he did. Flesh met flesh as the palm of the adults hand caressed the first years cheek "stay with us. Marikawa-sensei won't leave if you, the youngest and most innocent, stay and if she stays Takagi-san and her friends will too…" he was speaking in the cool, soothing voice he had used on Ruka earlier today and for a moment Harou worried, Ruka was one thing but Akemi had changed since leaving the school grounds. If this were the same Akemi from before everything ended she would have put all her faith in this scheming teacher simply because he was a teacher but Shidou-sensei wasn't dealing with that Akemi anymore…he was trying to tempt a monster. "Come now Marikawa-sensei…Sato-chan" Shidou-sensei pushed hair out of Akemi's face and tucking the messy fringes behind her ear "in times like these it's the two of you we rely on-"

"Hirano-senpai…" Akemi interrupted Shidou-sensei in the middle of his speech. She didn't say anything else just Hirano's name but that was all she had to say. Akemi must have sense the tension behind Harou much better than he did because before he could even stop to think why she had called the shy second year for as soon as the name left her lip something whizzed past Harou startling him. A nail shot through the narrow space scrapping a long line across Akemi's left cheek and then Shidou-sensei's before barreling to the back of the bus. The students in the back shrieked as the lethal nail pasted them and quickly dig itself into one of the seats.

"…." Shidou-sensei looked back at the nail before facing forward again; he pulled his hand free from Akemi's hair to cover the new cut on his skin "H-Hirano-kun?"

"I didn't intend to miss" Harou looked back at Hirano stunned that he would pull such a feet on a crowded bus, but this was a world where everything has ended after all and Akemi wasn't the only person to change because of it. They weren't the eyes of a demon but Hirano's eyes had shrunk to pinpricks of momentary insanity. "If I hadn't hit Sato-chan accidentally I would have gotten you right between the eyes…you just got lucky."

"You speak of unity and working together…Shidou-sensei" spoke Akemi slowly tilting her head to the side; blood collected from the cut on her face and slowly ran down her cheek but she didn't bother to wipe at it "But you forget with such an existence those within such groups must cooperate with one another they must get along for the greater good of everyone as a whole. Even if we do not like one another-hate each other even- we much restrain ourselves and hold our anger in….why? Because that's the normal thing to do. Retrain for the greater good of the group is an afford to keep life pleasant and normal" the first year explained calmly but her glare was growing in intensity and judging by the face Shidou-sensei made and the way he took a couple of steps back he must now be feeling the shudder up his spin that Harou had felt when first gazed upon the demon that was Akemi now "But normality doesn't exist anymore" the redhead declared like a reaper passing judgment "Normality is now…a _**dead**_ concept, so we don't have to hold back anymore…Hirano-senpai….can _kill you_ now" the grave reality of the statement took little to no time to settle in the adult mind. He went visibly white and a deep frown came to his face.

"Sato-chan" he was still trying to reason with Akemi. Harou knew what he was doing. Like Shidou-sensei said, Marikawa-sensei might be reluctant to leave if the youngest student stayed on the bus and if Marikawa-sensei stayed then they would have to as well; a nurse is a valuable asset to the group after all. Until Akemi walked out that door Shidou-sensei would try to keep her here in his family. "Sato-chan please, try to see some reason-"

"The devil doesn't reason with peasants like you" Akemi's words cut deep as she picked up her bokken and turned her back to the teacher, and in that moment everyone, even Harou, swore they were in the presence of Satan himself. Shidou-sensei made no moved to stop Akemi or any of them for that matter as they continued on their way to the exit, with Hirano aiming his makeshift gun at the adult Shidou-sensei wouldn't dare risk his neck to keep them on the bus.

"Ruka" Harou called to his most recent girlfriend as he nodded his head towards the door "Come on"

"…" the pair locked eyes for a moment before Ruka frowned deeply and shook her head "No"

"…what?" Harou blinked in confusion, did she just say no? She would rather stay on the bus with this creep? "Ruka I'm serious" Harou held out his hand for his girlfriend to take "Come on let get out of here"

"I'm not leaving Harou" Ruka stated firmly to Harou's horror and Shidou-sensei's obvious delight "Shidou-sensei is right…it's not safe to go running around the city all halfcocked! You're going to get yourself killed out there!" was that so? What happen to her passionate word yesterday…how did she phrase it…' she'd follow Harou where ever he went even if it meant to the afterlife' right? So much for that.

"Ruka please-"

"Leave her" Akemi interrupted Harou's attempt to get Ruka to move. By now only Harou, Hirano and Akemi stood on the bus with Hirano standing between Shidou-sensei and Harou and Akemi standing at the steps off the bus. Harou looked back at Akemi like she was crazy, leave her? Leave Ruka here? She had to be crazy!

"We can't just leave her behind like this-"

"Ikeda-senpai" Akemi wasn't looking at Harou, she was looking at Ruka at the back of the bus, her demon eyes looked as if they knew everything "She's not ready to go…._leave her behind_" she's not ready? Harou fixed Akemi with a confused look, what did she mean Ruka wasn't ready to leave- they didn't have time for ready!

"What's taking you guys so long!" a voice yelled from outside the bus, it was Takagi being impatient as ever "Hirano! Get your fat ass out here!"

"…Akemi-" Akemi didn't so much as give Harou a glance. From outside Busujima called her and Akemi listened spinning round and jumping off the bus without another word on the matter. That just left Harou and Hirano but really it just left Harou to decide. Hirano already knew where he was going, where ever Takagi went Hirano would follow but now Harou was torn.

He didn't want let Akemi out of his sight; in her state of mind she was on the fast lane to self-destruction and Harou fear that if he wasn't there to try and stop her Akemi was going to obliterate herself in a blaze of fire and ash but…Harou looking over his shoulder at Ruka again. Ruka refused to look at him now settling for staring out the window and clenching the fabric of her blouse in her hand. Harou couldn't just leave Ruka like this and he couldn't believe that Akemi could do it so easily. Ruka had been their friend since they were kids, Akemi looked up to Ruka and here she was turning her back on the third year.

"Ruka…" Harou could feel a sullen look coming to his face now

"Ikeda-senpai" Hirano broke Harou from his thoughts "We don't have time for this. Are you coming with us or not?" Harou didn't answer immediately; he continued to stare at Ruka silently trying to will her to look him in the eye. Eventually she did but only for a moment and in the split second Harou saw an odd look in Ruka's eyes. They were far off and unfocused as if she didn't really see Harou at all, couple with her blank expression Ruka looked like a doll….a puppet who could only move when her master pulled her stings…her master…Shidou-sensei…

In that instant Harou saw what Akemi must have seen moments ago: Ruka was desperately clinging to the illusion of normality. She would stay with Shidou-sensei and the rest because wanted to wake up tomorrow and realize that all of this was just a terrible nightmare just like Harou had wanted it to be. Suddenly Akemi's words from earlier that morning were starting to make clearer sense now compared to when she had first said them.

"_Nothing can perfectly be unseen, hoping this hell hole will go back to normal is an illusion now and thinking it will be a reality is an act that might cost you your life soon senpai… the sooner you accept it the better off we'll all be in the end"_

Ruka wasn't ready to accept that there was no such thing as normal anymore. She wasn't ready to leave that safe bubble of hope. Ruka wasn't ready to go. Harou understood now, Ruka had to be left behind because if she came she would be the end of them all simply because she wasn't ready to go. Harou offer the girl one last sad look before turning back around and hopping off the bus and joining the others outside Hirano followed after Harou quickly shutting the door behind him.

"What should we do now?" questioned Busujima now that their party was settled "I don't know this area very well"

"Well" Takagi crossed her arms in self-thought "We have to meet up with Komuro on the other side of the river"

"Then we should go to Onbetsu Bridge" Akemi chimed in turning in the direction everyone was coming from. If they were going to do that they would have to backtrack and walk to said bridge. It wasn't a very far walk; Onbetsu Bridge was visible from the one they stood on but they would have to go through panicking people and hordes of 'them' not to mention if there was anyone left walking around town it had to be total anarchy by now. They might be faced with choice of killing living people at some point of time. "It's the only other place we can cross the river besides swimming"

"It's probably blocked off too though" Hirano voiced "This isn't the kind of traffic this bridge normally gets. There are probably people trying pass through there too"

"We'll just have to go and see for ourselves then" Akemi gained a wicked grin her demon eyes glowing like neon lights. "Let's go"

"…Right" Harou nodded quietly; as the group began moving out Harou looked behind him at the bus they had just exited. Ruka was watching him with this same dulled eyes of hers showing Harou just how different she and Akemi were. Unlike Ruka's glazed over eyes Akemi's were sharp; the first year knew what was at stake and she didn't seem to have any trouble adapting to the break in reality around them. Unlike Ruka Akemi had been ready to keep going and if Harou didn't make up his mind soon she would leave him behind too.

Akemi really did change.

_When we were little Akemi was the kid that everyone picked on. You know the one. She was the kid who held on to their mothers hand when they came to the playground; the kid whose older sibling settled her fights for her. Akemi was that kid you would always have to wait for because she was too small or she was too young or she was too scared to go on. Akemi had been that child the other kids didn't bother to look twice at because even at that age pathetic was a realistic word to use to describe her._

_Maybe that's why she caught my eye back then. Image it; this short little midget of a girl with deep red hair and a big, round face. Her knees are dirty because she had just been push down by someone your age and she's crying because the other kids don't want to play with her. 'Don't go near that kid' they tell you 'she's a demon.' They say 'She's an evil spirit who sinned so much in her past life it stained her hair blood red.' They accuse this poor, pathetic, weeping, little girl 'She'll devour your soul if you play with her' but as you stand there and stare down at this pathetic little girl; as you watch her sitting in the dirt crying her eyes out you can't help but wonder… _

_Did anyone ask her if she was a demon?_

_Why her hair was such a deep shade of red?_

_Had she actually done anything to make everyone believe she was such an evil creature?_

_No. They all just assumed so because she looked different. Those idiots, they couldn't see past her odd hair. All they see is a scary monster too small to fight back; all they see is an easy target for their cruelty._

…_but I didn't._

_When I looked at Akemi on that faithful summer's day I didn't see her hair that everyone so passionately said branded her evil. All I saw was a little girl who needed a friend; someone who needed someone to care enough to want to protect her and when I saw that I decided that I would be that person. I can't say when exactly I had decided that I loved this pathetic girl; what started as a desire to protect Akemi like a guard dog turned to adoration for her. Akemi was lovely in her own right and though she was shy to most-and certainly for a good enough reason- when I actually got to know her it was like seeing a flower finally blossoming for the first time. Akemi was beautiful to me even when everyone else told me otherwise; even when Akemi couldn't see it herself I always knew she was beautiful. Perhaps I just didn't want anyone else to have this beautiful red lily that I claimed her as my own. I became selfish and made her mine under the mask of comfort…_

Ahead of the group Akemi charged forward once the group had hit the city again and 'they' were upon them. There was no saving her energy for later, there were too many of 'them' to hold back. Harou took a moment to watch in awe and Akemi, petite and nimble as she was, side stepped one of 'them' and with the momentum of her run pushed off the side of a nearby truck and launched herself in the air. Akemi made no sounds as she went airborne for a second before quickly sailing down on her target and cracking her bokken down on 'their' skull with such force she spilt it right down the middle. 'They' crumbled to the ground soon after leaving Akemi to land gracefully on her feet and loom over her bloody victim. By now her face was coated with blood once more and her red hair bristled around her wildly, her demon eyes shimmered with a sadistic kind of delight and in the light of the now setting sun the heart shaped tag hanging from the collar on her neck shinned in Harou's eyes.

_That collar had been my claim on her. If they would deem her a demon then she would be my red demon, my red spider lily, my Higan Bana. She must have known that, Akemi may be innocent at times but she isn't a fool, but she accepted it with pride because someone was acknowledging her. I remember thinking in that instant when she let me put that collar on her as if she were a dog that Akemi really was a pathetic little girl but she was my pathetic little girl and she would always be. Ah, yes…she would never leave me because I was the only person who had ever accepted her and I was the only person that would. That was just how it was and would always be and Akemi had accepted the reality that I had made for her, but yesterday when I had finally turned my back on her Akemi's reality cracked and crumbled beneath her feet…I spent all those year telling her she was my demon it should have been common sense that she would become one for real when I did what I did._

_Thinking about it right now I'm actually starting to wonder_

_Who is the real monster? Akemi or me?_

* * *

><p>Much like Harou expected it didn't take their small group of six to make their way to Onbetsu Bridge and with all the chaos people were causing deeper in the city there were many of 'them' in their way but getting to Onbetsu Bridge was never going to be that big of an issue. It was finding a way to cross it that had posed the biggest issue to the group. Much like the bridge they had escaped from Onbetsu Bridge was stuffed up with cars and people walking and as expected the police were doing their job and blocking the road off to citizen, all and all it was safe to say that they wouldn't be getting across the river on that bridge so once again the group had to turn back and see if they could find another route.<p>

Hirano had jokingly suggested that they try to swim across and in a moment of desperation they actually stopped to consider it but with Marikawa-sensei's big bag of medical stuff, Hirano's makeshift gun and the bag full of nails and an extra battery for it that Takagi was lugging around they're baggage was too heavy to float with them across the water not to mention Harou wasn't even sure all of them could actually swim. The sun was getting closer to the horizon and when Harou last checked his watch it was getting closer and closer to seven, the time Busujima had agree to meet Komuro and Miyamoto on the other side of the bridge; if they didn't find some way to cross the river they'd miss their appointed time.

But then again Harou really shouldn't be worrying about something like that right now.

"Anno….Maybe we were better staying on the bus with Shidou-sensei…" Marikawa-sensei whimpered holding her bag closer to her chest as she followed Harou's motion for her to back up even more than she had a moment about "…just…throwing that out there…"

"Weren't _you_ the one who said you thought he was a douchebag?" Takagi made a face at the nurse.

"…As a matter of fact I did" Marikawa-sensei admitted casually "but he wouldn't be the first douchebag I was stuck on a bus with…"

The yells from their argument about crossing the river earned them a series of unwanted attention and now the group of six was dealing with more of 'them' then they had faced yet. Harou was standing guard of Marikawa-sensei and Takagi while Hirano, Busujima and Akemi tried to beat down the numbers before them enough for them to try and escape but they just kept coming…it was endless.

"'Just to let you guys know I'm running out of nails!" Hirano announced backing up until he stood beside Harou.

"Here" Harou offer the handle of bat in his hands to the second year with a comical smirk on his face "wanna borrow this?"

"Eh….I-I'm not really good with hand to hand combat" the expression on Hirano's face was priceless and Harou found himself laughing at it despite himself "!" Hirano's face suddenly became serious as he looked past Harou "Ikeda-senpai behind you!"

"Huh?" Harou mused looking back at the same moment Marikawa-sensei shrieked. While he was busy laughing at Hirano Harou had let one of 'them' get way too close with 'their' mouth open wide for a nice big chomp of high school third year "Oh shit!" was all Harou could manage out before something zipped past both Hirano and him and rammed the walking corpse in the midsection with their should throwing 'them' off balance and sending 'them' falling backwards onto the concrete. With a long wave of crimson hair Harou's savior rebalanced themselves and swung down with all their might cave the skull in of what would have been Harou's doom. "Akemi…"

"Whoa…." The two boys stared at the first year and she straightened herself and turned to face them.

"Hand to hand isn't your thing you say" the girl mused swinging her bokken down and leaving a line of blood to splatter across the ground "it's a good thing that's my specialty"

"It's her specialty?" Harou echoed staring at the girl dumbfounded, since when did the mousey first year Akemi have a specialty in hand to hand combat?!

"Wow, for a first year Sato-chan sure is cool" Hirano added though it sounded like it more to himself than Harou and Harou would continue to think that it was so.

"Ikeda-senpai" Akemi hummed turning away from the two boys and getting back into fighting stance as more of 'them' drew close "Now isn't the time to be dicking around. Please try to be serious"

"Yea, Yea" Harou shrugged before getting ready for the next wave to come at them "Can't help it. We're staring death in the face right now, might as well get in my jollies while I can"

"Then get all the laughs you can if you intend to die here" Akemi's words stung as it they seem to be doing a lot lately but Harou decided to ignore it. She was right, he needed to be serious or they'll all pay the price in the end "…." The air was still for the brief moment before 'they' lunged in for another group attack but when they did Harou was ready for them. Taking Harou's place as he charged forward to meet one of 'them' head on Hirano stepped back and took aim shooting only when he absolutely needed in a last attempt to conserve his ammo. Farther down the road Busujima was in the middle of a dance having little to no problem keeping up with the sheer number of 'them' that crowded her, guess she wasn't Kendo club captain for nothing.

"Akemi!" Harou called to the first year getting her attention, he held his free hand out for her grab "Tag!"

Akemi's grinned wickedly and complied, gripping Harou's hand and holding onto it tightly, Harou returned her grin. He yanked her to him hard stabbing the bat in his other hand forward as hard as he could, Akemi did the same with her bokken and for a second it looked like they were trying to stab one another in the stomachs but at the last second-just as they were close enough- their weapons shifted from the originally thought mark and past either attacker. Akemi's chest collided with Harou and the end of her bokken impaled one of 'them' that stood behind Harou while his bat hit the one behind Akemi and knocked 'them' off balance. The pair stumbled about, holding onto one another in an attempt to keep from falling to ground. When steady Akemi lowered her bokken raising her head to look Harou's in the eyes. Emerald eyes locked in this moment of quick embrace and for a split second as Harou looked into Akemi's eyes he thought he might have his old Akemi back in his arms once again. Her eyes seemed to widened back to their olds selves and an innocent look of wonder came to the first years face while her Higan Bana heart tag still glittered in the sunlight. That was right…that collar…Akemi was still in there…Harou's Red Spider lily was still in the shell of the monster she had become. After a moment of silence Akemi must have come to her sense and realized how close they were because she pushed Harou back and quickly stepped away from him.

"…." A faint scarlet came to the bridge of the young girls nose "…thanks" she muttered before turning away from him and hastily charging towards the nearest one of 'them' to get away from Harou not noticing the slight look of satisfaction that came to his face.

_That's right…monster or not…so long as Akemi wore that collar…she would always be tame…she would always be mine._

A few minutes of fighting seemed to whiz by and become a half hour and before any of them knew it the sun was sitting right of the horizon in the distance; still the horde didn't look like it had gotten any smaller than it had been when they had started fighting 'them' and Harou had to admit he was starting to get tired and judging by the look of pure panic on Hirano's face he was on the edge of being completely out of ammo. Busujima was too far away for Harou to guess how she was fairing and as for Akemi…..!?

"Akemi!" Harou yelled when he looked over at the girl.

The first year must have been feeling fatigued too because when Harou looked her way she was bent over with her hands on her knee and panting leaving herself wide open for an attack. She looked up just in time to see one of 'them' lunge at her and with barely anytime to raise her weapon to attack Akemi dropped her bokken and took a step back. But 'they' were far too close to simply dodge and got close enough to almost take a bite of the little first year's neck before her little hands found 'their' shoulders she pushed back with all her might. 'they' almost got her, almost but thanks to Harou's yell and the adrenaline that surely must be pumping through the girl's veins Akemi threw 'them' away from her just as 'their' teeth chomped down on the leather around her neck. There was a loud _SNAP!_ As the collar broke off and Akemi was sent stumbling to the ground.

"Akemi, no!" Harou moved to go to the girl's aid about stopped with a snarl. There were just too many of 'them' in between Harou and Akemi for Harou to even think of getting close. That didn't mean he couldn't try! With a feral yell Harou started swinging like a mad man "Akemi!" he yelled to the girl from her place on the ground slightly stunned "Akemi get up! _GET UP_!" Akemi pushed herself to a sitting position shaking her head slightly just as another one of 'them' slowly made 'their' way to her "Akemi!" Akemi looked up at 'them' with wide eyes of horror, was this really the end for her? No…no! "_AKEMI_!"

_VRRRRRMM!_

The air shuddered with the loud sounds of an engine nearby. As if straight out of an action movie a motorcycle went flying off the ramp of a nearby tow truck and high over them and Harou took a second to gape at it, who in their right mind was crazy enough to…

"Miyamoto?!" Harou gaped when one of the riders on the bike leaped off in the middle of its mid-air jump. Miyamoto Rei came in swinging landed on her feet as if she hadn't just jumped from a moving vehicle and with one mighty swing of the pole in her hands the crowd of 'them' that stood between Harou and Akemi were taken off their feet "Whoa, Miyamoto….wait, then that means…" The bike landed not too far from where Miyamoto had and kept on going with none other than Komuro on it.

"Hirano!" he called to the now unarmed second year reaching into his back pocket and flinging something at him. Hirano caught it with ease and a new found psychopathic look came to the boy's face.

_BANG! BANG!_

Two shots rang out immediately after Hirano caught the gun burying two shiny bullets into two separate skulls marking the permanent end of their owner's lives. Komuro drove on gunning for Busujima now yelling for her to take his hand which she did. Holding tightly to Busujima's hand Komuro tried to turn the bike around so it faced the other was an in response the tires screeched against the concrete. When he came to an abrupt stop Komuro let go and sent Busujima spinning like a top away from him allowing her the speed and momentum she need to take out the rest of 'them' on her side. That left just one person: Akemi. The muffler of the bike coughed out a puff of smoke before Komuro was off again back the way he had originally come from creating a gust of wind Harou didn't know a bike that size could make as he blazed past and hurried to Akemi's aid. The first year had been back into the nearby rail and now sat cornered and unarmed awaiting her fate when Komuro finally got close enough to swerve the bike and send it careening into the lest of 'them' that had just been getting ready to make a meal out of Akemi taking 'them' out and saving the first year in the nick of time.

"Amazing…" Marikawa remarked when the dust had finally settled and everyone was able to let out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we're all clear for now" Busujima added with a sigh of relief

"Sato-chan…" Komuro's voice broke Akemi's daze and she blinked back to the present turning her gaze up to meet the second years concerned face and an offered hand of assistance "you alright?"

"….M-Mm" Akemi nodded taking Komuro's hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet "That was too close, thank god you came when you did" the first year commented bringing a hand to her neck where her collar use to be " 'they' almost got me"

"Akemi" Harou called now remembering that she had almost been bitten and went to check to see if she was okay but stopped short.

"Well then it's a good thing we heard Hirano's nail gun or I wouldn't have made it here as fast as I did" Komuro mused clambering off the he had rode in on and saved everyone with. He parked it with ease and moved around it picking up the bokken that Akemi had dropped "Here, you'll probably want this back"

"Thanks" Akemi thanked Komuro and a smile came to her face momentarily "well…..you being here must mean Tokonoso Bridge is blocked too…"

"Yup" Komuro responded thought he didn't sound all to bothered by that fact and Akemi didn't look bothered either "There's no way out" to this Akemi simply shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal. They were trapped on the side of the river with all of 'them' and it wasn't a big deal…

"I was really worried Senpai….I'm glad that you're okay" Akemi's features relaxed and her shoulders eased up for the first time all day, Akemi seemed….at ease around Komuro…

"Komuro!" Hirano cheering was added to the conversation as he marveled at the gun Komuro had given him mere moments ago "Where did you get this?! Where are the extra bullets?! This is awesome!"

_That's right…_

While everyone was getting settled down and taking in the moment of peace Harou's green eyes found the road under their feet. A few feet away from him the black leather collar that once clung to Akemi's neck was now snapped and lay forgotten on the road. In his haste to save Akemi Komuro must have run over it with that bike before there was a large tire mark on it and the heart shaped tag was bent into an odd angle.

_Monster or not, as long as she wears that collar._

"That's a Smith & Wesson's M37 Airweight" Akemi remarked to Hirano while walking along side Komuro as he wheeled the bike closer to the others. Neither First year nor Second year took notice of the collar even when Komuro ran over it a second time "The police use those guns right?"

"Hells yea!" cheered Hirano turning the gun around and around so he could take in every angle of it "Oh man! The feel of it! The Weight!"

"How did you know that Sato-chan?" Komuro looked down at the shorter student with a look of surprise. A surprisingly coy look came to Akemi's face in response to the question posed to her, a face Harou had never seen her make before in all the years he's known her.

Akemi really had changed

_So long as Akemi wore that collar the beast was tame…_

"I'm a girl of many secrets" Akemi mused with a slight giggle "The better question is how you got your hands on one. That's a police issued gun I can tell that much from here….care to share?"

"Ahahaha anno well…." Komuro chuckle and the conversation went on like that but after a minute of watching them Harou turned his attention back to abandoned collar on the ground behind the group.

_So long as she wore it Akemi was mine._


End file.
